Of Dragons and Ravens
by sumthin.clever.5
Summary: Harry Potter is a Veela. Draco Malfoy is a Veela. Harry and Draco are both dominant types. Harry and Draco are mates. Oh, boy. (Takes place summer before 7th year onward, but disregards JK's 6th and 7th years. I wasn't a fan. But some facts may be kept. Idk. Slash warning. No copyright infringement meant and all that jazz.)
1. Prologue

Of Dragons and Ravens  
Prologue

Calling either of them a submissive would have been a mistake. They both have dominant, alpha-male personalities. But it would have been more than a technical mistake. This mistake very likely would have ended in physical injury. To what extent depended on which mate you had referred to. Draco was fairly unforgiving. Harry was a bit more lenient, at least when the mood struck. There was a certain level of respect he expected, after all. They were both dominant, though each could submit to the other when necessary. But implying anything else was an insult to both their male dominant instincts, and that really was unforgivable. And even if it didn't affect both directly, insulting one's mate affected the other Veela anyway. Insults to one's mate could not go unpunished.

But we're getting ahead of ourselves. Let's take it back to the beginning. It all started the summer before their seventh year at Hogwarts when the boys came into their inheritance...

* * *

**A/N**: Whew! So this is the start of my very _second_ fic. The first is called "Waking Up" and is a WIP. An idea for a Veela fic popped into my head so I'm rolling with it. Hope you enjoy. And don't be afraid to leave a review. Constructive, not so, whatever. I like to grow as a writer. Noted, the rest of the story has different tone than the prologue.


	2. Coming into His Inheritance

Of Dragons and Ravens

Chapter 1: Coming into His Inheritance

The night before Draco turned 17, he was nervous and anxious. He was afraid to hope, really. In a matter of hours, he would be free. Emancipated. Liberated. Released. _Unbound._ Draco was so excited that he was repeating himself. But he really couldn't help it.

In a few hours, he would be 17. Free of the "trace." Free of the limits set on underage wizards. Free of his _father _and everything his father wanted of him.

Draco knew he was taking a big step. He knew defying one's family, especially in the pureblood circles he currently moved freely in, was crippling, if not completely destructive, to one's social standing. He knew that his father would threaten to disown him, if not torture then kill him. He knew that what he was doing was going to be difficult, for these and a million other reasons. And Draco knew that he would be doing it alone.

But Draco also knew that he didn't care. He was tired of living under his father's thumb. He was tired of living in his father's shadow. He was tired of living by his father's rules. No more. This would be the last day Draco would submit to anyone's will except his own. He swore this to himself. From now on, Draco would be living for Draco and Draco only.

But all that would start in a few hours. In a few hours, Draco would be 17. But right now and for the next few hours, Draco was still 16. Still underage. Still under the "trace." Still living under his father's thumb, in his father's shadow, by his father's rules. And Draco feared his father would use these few hours to figure out how to bind him again.

Draco couldn't remember exactly when he'd stopped idolizing his father and worshipping every move the man made and word he spoke. Draco couldn't quite pinpoint the moment he'd started to doubt. He didn't know when he'd decided his father's ideas and aims no longer coincided with his own. And he certainly didn't know when he'd started to act on these things. But apparently his father did.

For awhile Draco hadn't noticed the slight shift in his father's behavior. If on occasion he thought his father looked at him a little harder than usual, he said it a trick of the light. While not an unfeeling man, his father was 100% Malfoy and they were not known for showing emotion openly, even in private. If sometimes his father's tone seemed unnecessarily clipped, Draco shrugged it off. He really didn't know what the man had on his mind as he now tried his hardest to no longer be privy to what he was going through. And if his father once in awhile told him to do some borderline unreasonable thing, he complied after the briefest hesitation. He had still been his father's property at that point. Compliance really was the only answer.

But his father must have seen something off in his behavior. Perhaps his hesitations hadn't been brief enough. Draco didn't know, but his father had come down hard on him after a time. Draco was too old for spankings, and even if he weren't, they were too plebeian for a Malfoy. His punishments had started off as simple lectures on pureblood superiority and muggle and mudblood impurity. Then had come threats of disinheritance and disownment for any hint of disobedience. (It was such threats that had Draco putting his money aside into a secret account should he have need of it one day.) Then came the threats to take him directly to Voldemort for renewed lessons in acceptable belief systems. This was the deciding factor for Draco. He set to putting plans in motion.

Draco glanced at the clock on his bedside table. It seemed an hour had slipped by him in his musings. He thanked Merlin for it. He had two hours left before 12:00a.m. Draco thought he felt a sudden tingling in his back between his shoulder blades, but he took it for his nerves making his posture especially rigid. He ignored the feelings and chose to think about his mother instead.

Narcissa Malfoy was a proud woman. And the mold of a pureblood wife. Draco was not entirely sure what she believed in. She did not seem hell-bent on pureblood dominance in the world or the annihilation of muggles and mudbloods. She mostly seemed content to enjoy the privileges and comforts her station afforded her. Draco was fairly sure she only went along with Lucius' take on the war because he was her husband and she was nothing if not a dutiful wife. He thought she might have even loved the man, in a way.

And unlike Lucius, whose displays of affection in general were few and far between, Narcissa showed her love off often, if only in small ways. It was in the tone of her voice when she said his name. It was in the lightness of her touch when she absent mindedly stroked his hair or cheek. It was in the softness of her eyes and the slight curve of her lips when she looked at him. It was in the personal touches of herself she left in his room and the memorabilia of his growth in hers. She loved him, Draco knew, and that was it.

Draco felt his mouth begin to smile at these thoughts. Yes, his mother loved him and he loved her, too. He was sorry for what his future actions were going to do to her. He knew they would hurt, but he hoped he wouldn't devastate her. She would be a casualty in Draco's war with his father, but she seemed to have chosen her side. She was a wife first, then a mother.

An increase in the discomfort in his back brought Draco out of these musings. He brows furrowed into a frown. A bit of excess rigidity should not cause this level of pain. Draco gasped when said pain kicked up a few more notches. He grit his teeth and bore it as he slowly rose from the chair he had been occupying. He was making his way to the full length mirror in his corner when he had to make a detour to clutch onto the bed post as the pain got yet worse.

Some part of Draco's brain wondered if this was his father's doing. Had the man found some spell or ritual to bind him beyond his 17th birthday? As if so, how and when had he been able to cast it on Draco? He'd been very careful around the man lately. Draco glanced at the clock. 11:55p.m. If this was his father's doing, he had only 5 minutes to complete whatever the hell it was. "I hope it's father's work," Draco thought desperately as another wave of torture passed through him. He needed this pain to be over, and soon, and hoped that the releasing of all childhood holds would make it stop.

Draco dropped gracelessly onto his bed, thanking whatever deity might be listening that he didn't miss altogether and hit the floor. The burning sensations in his back were starting to affect his vision and Draco tried to hold on to the mental images of what he was beginning to not be able to see. A blurry look at his clock told him it was either 11:58p.m. or 11:59p.m. and Draco began to count down from 60 to give himself something else to focus on besides the shrieking cells in his back. He was only a fraction of the way there when his back opened up with excruciating agony and he couldn't help but cry out. He screamed. Long and loud. But the pain did not recede.

He lost his awareness of the world as the clock struck 12.

* * *

Harry awoke to several abnormalities with his body. It was the low grade burn in his back that had aroused him, but now he felt that burn creeping up upward to form a blazed trail to his neck where it spiraled then twisted in some unrecognizable pattern before settling. Then there was the low echo of a cry in his head. It was barely audible, but it was there. Not to mention the small tug on…_something_ inside of him. It was telling him to go. He was needed somewhere, but he didn't know where. Heck, Harry had no idea what was going on.

His first thought was Voldemort, but he quickly dismissed it. Voldemort hadn't tried getting into his head since 5th year, although he still got the occasional flash. After the whole fiasco in the Department of Mysteries and what happened to Sirius (which could still depress him, even if he no longer solely blamed himself), Harry was a whole lot more careful about the things in his head.

Surely Voldemort didn't think he'd fall for the same thing again. Not only that, but Harry had also gotten much better at Occlumency. After everything that happened 5th year, Harry wanted to make sure he was the only one in his head.

But besides all that, the main reason Harry dismissed the cause of his sudden changes as Voldemort was because this felt differently. It all lacked the feel of darkness and evil that Harry had come to recognize was attached to anything associated with Voldemort. Even the scream in his head, which had ended and faded into a blissful darkness, didn't sound like his mum being struck by the Avada Kedavra, which was usually the only screaming he heard in his head. Though the burns in his back and neck hurt, and the tugging inside him felt odd, Harry felt no remnants of darkness or evil connected to them. In fact, he was almost sure he felt a white purity to them. Harry rarely got that feeling. Even Dumbledore had a mix of colors, though was mostly white. The only other absolutely pure thing Harry could currently recall was a unicorn.

A glance at the bedside clock told Harry it was 12:03a.m. Harry hated waking up this early. It was infinitely more difficult to get back to sleep after a nightmare. Or whatever it was that had awoken him. Harry wondered at it all. The scream was gone and the tug had all but vanished as well, but Harry could swear he still felt the…something. The burn on his neck and back had long ago settled itself into a barely there tingle. He considered going to check it out, but determined the trip to the bathroom was both too long for so early in the morning and too dangerous with the risk of waking his relatives. Harry could see later; it didn't seem to be hurting him now. With that finalizing thought, Harry snuggled as best he could under his scant blanket and let the comforting something within him settle him back into sleep.

* * *

Harry awoke later that day at the slightly more reasonable hour of 8:00a.m. to his uncle banging on his door and yelling at him to do something or another. Harry had all but stopped listening to these daily rants. He turned 17 this summer. Therefore, this would be the last summer he suffered in this house. He'd be damned if he stayed here after he was a legal adult. He would access his inheritance and get some place if he didn't move into Grimmauld Place. Sometimes the house caused him too much grief to stay there for long.

When the banging on his door did not cease, Harry sighed and tuned back in to his screaming uncle.

"Boy, do you hear me? Get up. Get UP! Your aunt needs you to make breakfast and I've got a list of chores for you," the surly man yelled. Harry sighed again but got up to start his day.

* * *

He was just finishing mowing the lawn when thoughts of this morning returned to him. It was slow coming, though. Something about a tingle or burn or something. Something about…Voldemort? No, not Voldemort, something or someone else. Was there a bit about unicorns somewhere in there? Now Harry knew he'd been dreaming.

Harry looked up at the clouds as he pushed the mower down the last strips of grass. It was a nice day….Day. Harry didn't know what day it was; summers just kind of blurred together for him, but he felt like there was something important about today. He didn't know what. It wasn't his birthday yet, and that was usually the only important summer event. So what was it?

After a bit longer trying to riddle it out, Harry gave up. He was too tired for questions without answers. He was tired, hot, sweaty, and far too hungry to bother with things less important than a shower and a subsequent meal. His aunt and uncle had neither let him bathe nor eat before he finished his chores. He would just get dirty again out in the yard and work up an appetite from his exertions anyway, so why bother? He'd be damned if he admitted they had a point; it was still abuse.

* * *

Harry was in the shower. There was something different about his neck and back. He rolled his shoulders and his head along his neck, but that did nothing but let out a few kinks. So it was nothing painful; Harry still knew something was different. He touched his fingers to the spot on his neck that felt odd to him. Under his fingers was some weird extrusion in a pattern he couldn't readily identify. Harry stilled with his fingers in place. What was on his neck? Much more warily now, he ran his fingers down the extrusion where it continued in a line down to his back. Where they stopped was between Harry's shoulder blades where he felt a thinner extrusion in some manner of design that branched out in both directions. What the?

Harry jumped out of the tub, water running in streams down his body, all thoughts of a shower currently forgotten. He reached the mirror and turned his back to face it while looking over his shoulder. Between his shoulder blades was a very light outline of a pattern of wings in white. From there, a darker toned line led to a pattern that first spiraled. Deep within the spiral sat an Irish Claddagh ring (something he'd learned about from Seamus), a design portraying a heart, adorned by a crown, clasped between two hands. In general, the Claddagh was very symbolic. The heart signified love, the crown loyalty, and the hands friendship. Harry didn't know what it meant when it was in a spiral. Further, Harry didn't know what any of it was doing on his neck and back.

Harry decided he needed answers, and soon. He finished his shower, ate his meal, then sent Hedwig off with letters to Dumbledore, Ron, Hermione, and Remus with the description of his new adornment as well as as much as he could remember about this morning, a situation he decided hadn't been a dream thanks to his new tattoo and other returning facts from earlier. Now Harry sat to wait. Surely someone would know something.

* * *

Draco awoke with the light bright in his room. He wondered briefly what time it was, but dismissed the thought as irrelevant when he realized he was anxious. …No. That wasn't right. Not exactly. He wasn't anxious, but there was definite anxiety within him. He couldn't quite tell the source.

He idly noted something cool was patting him on the forehead. He opened his eyes to see his mother removing a wet rag from his head, dipping it in water then ringing it out to return it to his head again. Her face looked tired; he wondered how long she'd been at this. More, he wondered why she was doing it. He was a bit warm, but certainly not in a sick way. She was pampering him like an invalid.

When he attempted to rise, he found it more difficult than usual. To begin, there was something unusual beneath him. It was far too soft to be his covers. He preferred silks. Looking down, it appeared as though his pillows had systematically exploded. He lay atop a plethora of soft feathers all aligned downward. He blinked at them and tried to figure out why they were there. When he tried to rise again to investigate further, he was alerted to pains in new places in his back. What's more, the feathers moved with him. When he rose, they lifted and when he stood, they stayed attached to his back and threatened to overbalance him with their unfamiliar weight.

Wings. Sweet Merlin, he had wings. Why the bloody hell did he have wings?!

His mother caught his eye and he looked at her suspiciously. "What do you know about this?" he asked her as he pointed over a shoulder where one of the wings protruded.

She waved her hand back to the bed so he sat and she took a seat he had not noticed before.

"The Black House is very ancient and very noble," she began, "and very magical." With this, she gave him a pointed look. He got it; this point was the key. "Over the years," she continued, "our line has adopted into it magical beings that would enhance the future generations. One such magical being was a Veela."

Draco stared at her. He was part Veela? Hell, a bit more than part by the looks of things. But then, why wasn't she…?

"The Veela gene in our line is present in all descendents from that ancestor, but it only seems to display its dominance in sporadic cases. You appear to be such a case. We do not know the reason behind this. It is just so. Congratulations, Draco. You are now a Veela," was his mother's succinct comment, preempting him.

Draco Malfoy was a Veela. Imagine that.

* * *

A/N: And that concludes chapter 1! I have chapter 2 written out, but my wrist hurts from writing then typing all day, so it'll probably be up tomorrow. For those reading "Waking Up," I'll try to finish chapter 4 of that tomorrow and post it, as well. Hope you enjoyed this. Remember to review! It makes me write faster. ;) Cheers.


	3. Mated

**A/N:** Here lies chapter 2! A fair bit longer than any chapter I've written for anything thus far, so yay. Hopefully you like it. (For anyone reading "Waking Up" as well, chapter 4 of that is now up and is, haha, unfortunately the shortest chapter of that story yet. But blah.)

I've decided to dedicate this chapter to ShellyB1 who was the first commenter to this story and is currently the only one. Hint hint. ;)

* * *

Of Dragons and Ravens

Chapter 2: Mated

Harry had to wait a few days for a reply from anyone. He was pretty much on edge the entire time. He was only somewhat calm when he was with Hedwig. Stroking her feathers was one of the few comforts he was allowed in this house. His aunt and uncle wanted to lock her away with the rest of his school things, but he refused. She was a living creature, for Merlin's sake.

The first answer to arrive was Ron's. It was not overly helpful, but it tried to explain what little the redhead knew as a pureblood.

_ Mate,_

_I'm not altogether sure, but that sounded like half of some sort of binding ritual. That marking on your neck might be the symbol of your bond to someone else. I'm sending Hermione a copy of this so she can look further into it. You know she'll have an answer for you if she has to inspect the thing personally. Hope to see you soon._

_Cheers,_

_Ron._

A binding ritual? What? He was bound to someone? Who? Why? What the heck was going on? He needed to speak to Dumbledore ASAP. Harry was sure the man would know something, if not about the who or the why, then certainly about the what and perhaps the how. Unfortunately, Dumbledore's owl had yet to arrive. He assumed the man was probably on pressing Order business or some such. As it was, Remus' owl arrived next.

_Harry,_

_I'm not positive, but based on your description of the events and their results, it sounds as if you are now bound to a magical creature. I would have to see the markings to do further research and be sure, but I'm a little pressed for time just at the moment. But I will be there as soon as I can, Harry. Just hang on._

_ Yours,_

_ Remus_

This letter made Harry feel marginally better. It was a second agreement to a binding, which he didn't like, but it also showed his surrogate godfather's love for him. Harry really needed such signs of affection in his life.

Hermione's letter arrived next, carried by the owl Harry and Ron had bought her for her last birthday. It wasn't quite a whirlwind like Ron's owl, Pig, but Aristotle was a happy enough bird. Hedwig usually found both younger birds quite undignified. Hermione's letter was slightly more thorough than the others.

_Harry,_

_By all accounts, you are now bonded. The books I have access to are limited here, but the 5 I have on ceremonies and rituals indicate that you are now the property, or mate in some instances, of whoever or whatever the ritual was performed by, intentionally or no. To discover if this was done with malicious intent, I need to see the markings. They will indicate what kind of creature bound you and for what. Even slight differences among the designs can make a world of difference. Can you perhaps send me a picture of the designs? That would help since I imagine you can't come here yourself. Let me know soon._

_ All my love,_

_ Hermione_

Well that was comforting. Not only was he bound to someone, but he was property now? Or someone's or some_thing_'s mate? This was bloody terrible. Why couldn't anything in his life be normal? Just for once?

It took weeks for Harry to finally get Dumbledore's letter. Apparently the man was doing extensive traveling for the Order and it took awhile for one of its members to finally get the letter to him, let alone wait for him to reply. When it came it was quickly scrawled and succinct.

_Harry,_

_It appears as though you are now bonded. Though this is potentially troubling, it does not appear to be related to Voldemort either directly or otherwise. I will be there to look into it further when I can. Stay safe until then._

_ Albus_

"Potentially troubling?" "Stay safe?" Harry was apparently bonded to some random magical creature and Dumbledore called it a potential problem? The man was mad. And stay safe? That was clearly not his strong suit. Leaving this house was a danger, not to mention the dangers within it with those people he called relatives.

They had not been amused when they discovered the tattoo on Harry's neck and back. Tattoos were apparently disgusting and only something hoodlums got. When they discovered it did not wash off, they were even more upset. They could no longer lock him in the cupboard so they locked him in his room instead.

Hermione had not yet found an answer but was still looking. Ron was out of information and Remus had yet to visit. Harry would have given up hope if not for 1: his birthday was next week and 2: he was being constantly comforted by the something inside him. He imagined this was his bond connection to whoever he was attached to. At least whoever his master/mate was seemed to care about his distress. At this point, he supposed all he could do is wait.

So instead of focusing on discovering the identity of his bonded, he focused on the creature's feelings, which he could feel through their bond. He had been able to feel them since the first day, he supposed, if he counted the tugging he originally felt. At least his bonded seemed to be a sentient being. He'd hate to be bound to a fish or kneazle or something. And his bonded felt _a lot_. There had been anger and confusion and love and hurt and freedom. Oh, how his bonded had reveled in that freedom. It made Harry want to experience it with them. Harry had tried to send his feelings down the bond like his partner was doing. He tried to comfort his partner during the anger and confusion and hurt, tried to send contentment and peace when he felt the love and freedom. He wanted to give as good as he got. His bonded helped him. He could return the favor. Right at the moment, his bonded seemed to be feeling frustrated.

* * *

Trying to learn to fly was frustrating as hell. Draco flexed the wings protruding from his back. He had grown accustomed to the feel of the appendages and extra muscles these last several weeks. They were actually quite nice and gave Draco a sense of rightness and lightness in his body. He tried flapping them again. They blew a pleasant breeze around his whole body.

He tried to lift off, but they wouldn't carry him now. For some reason, the appendages seemed temperamental. They allowed him to fly as sporadically as it seemed the Veela gene became dominant in his family. They'd allowed him to fly once. Just once. But oh, that had been the absolute best feeling Draco had ever experienced. There was nothing else like flying by wings. A broom was pale in comparison. Draco had felt a freedom like he'd never felt in his life.

That had been a couple of weeks ago now. His mother figured it just took a bit of practice before he mastered the compulsion. He had been surprised by his mother. She had not been what he'd thought. Apparently she was mother first, then wife. Or perhaps Black first, then Malfoy. Either way, she had not become a casualty of war like Draco thought she would.

She had not abandoned him when he left his father's house, and leave he did. Not only that, but she had apparently forwarded some money into the account that was clearly not as secret as Draco had assumed. Apparently minors weren't allowed to open accounts without parental acceptance. It seemed Narcissa had not only given her permission, but had been adding money to the account steadily. Draco had never known. Clearly his mother was as aware of his behavior change as his father had been.

Draco's thoughts turned darker when they drifted to his father. The man was more twisted than Draco had imagined. When he'd found out about Draco's newfound heritage, he'd been ecstatic. He thought he had a new weapon to offer the Dark Lord. Not only a new follower in the form of his son, but a magical creature with untold abilities that could only strengthen their master's power. Lucius was going to offer Draco up to the Dark Lord as a living sacrifice to the man's aims, like so much a lamb.

Draco had been disgusted. It was then he told his father no. No, he would not be a Death Eater. No, he would not follow the Dark Lord. No, he would not be sacrificed to the madman. No, he was no longer his father's tool. He was 17. He was free. And he was a Veela. A bloody magical creature more powerful than a mere wizard. He would no longer be controlled by one.

Needless to say, his father had not taken this well. He quickly went from shock to boisterous anger. He yelled, he threatened, he cursed, and finally he tried to hex Draco. It was then Draco discovered just how powerful his wings could be. They went from soft and feathery to behind him to harder than steel and wrapped around his person. It seemed he had sensed a threat and responded instinctively. But not only had the wings protected him, they had absorbed the spell and rebounded them back to Lucius.

Threat gone, Draco's wings reverted to their soft nature and unfurled to return to their previous position. At Draco's feet was a stunned Lucius in a full body bind. Draco wondered what his father had planned to do with him in such a state. Likely take him to Voldemort forthwith. Well, Draco wasn't going to give him the chance. He pointed his wand at Lucius and muttered the spell that would bind the man in ropes. He then took his father's wand and left him on the floor as he departed the room. He felt a moment of hurt for his father's behavior, but released it. He'd seen it coming.

He went to find his mother. After one look at his face, she opened her arms to him. There was only the briefest hesitation before he was in them. She stroked his hair and wings lightly and rubbed her cheek against him. Draco settled in her arms. How he loved this woman.

He left the Manor that day. After he packed his most basic essentials, he cast a Disillusionment Charm on his wings until he learned how to retract them. He would stay at the Leaky Cauldron or something until he left for school.

It was as he was heading for the door that his mother told him about the bank account. He was surprised she knew about it, but astounded by the amount she'd been putting in it. He had more than enough to find a small apartment dwelling for the next month or so, and to replenish his wardrobe if needed. It turned out this last was not necessary. A house elf appeared a moment later with his Hogwarts trunk in hand and a few more trunks filled with what he took to be the rest of his room.

He blinked at his mother, who smiled at him. Clearly, she knew this was coming. Clearly, she knew a lot of things. Draco hugged her again. When he set to leave, he asked her to send his things to the Leaky Cauldron. He might as well stay there until he found a new dwelling.

She kissed him on the forehead and said a farewell she had not used on him since he was a young child. "So long, my little love, and be safe. If ever you need me, just close your eyes and call and I will be there."

Thinking back, Draco realized that she had. Every time he'd done that, his mother had Apparated to his side. He'd thought it had just been a mother's intuition when he was younger, but now he wondered just how much of the Veela heritage was dominant in her.

She smiled as if she could read his mind through his eyes and kissed him again. She then gave the house elf orders to deliver his luggage and then she turned and left.

Draco was left wondering for a moment, but then he too turned and departed, but for the Manor gates so he could Apparate to London. He'd learned to Apparate last school year. He'd get his license now that he was of age, though. He hoped he wouldn't get in too much trouble doing it now before he was licensed since the "trace" was gone. It didn't really matter, though. If there was a fine or something, he'd pay it. He'd happily pay it ten times over to get away from this place before his father was freed.

* * *

Draco had stayed at the Leaky Cauldron for a week or so before moving into a small condo. He'd rented it for far less than he assumed he should. He wondered if his name and face had influenced the seller at all. It didn't matter. It was in a nice open place and he needed it for practicing his flying.

He wondered if his father had been keeping track of him. He hadn't spoken to the man since he'd left home several weeks ago, but he heard from his mother that the man was currently less than pleasant to be around. Draco wondered if he'd been punished by his master for the loss of not only a follower but a Veela. But he didn't think on it long. The man had made his choices, after all.

Draco looked about his field. The wings liked the feel of the breeze, but did not seem to want to fly amongst it. This frustrated Draco. He wanted to fly again. Today he resolved to do it. Period. His resolve seemed to have some affect on his wings. As he ran up the hill flapping them, they seemed to want to lift him now. Soon enough Draco was flying. Ah, how he had missed this. Once had not been enough.

Higher he went. He wanted to touch the clouds. He was actually reaching for them when a strange feeling along his bond had him losing his concentration. Draco could not focus on both. He pulled his attention to flying back down before he plummeted. When he landed, he focused on the feelings inside of him.

Now this bond was a weird thing. When he first discovered he had another awareness inside of him, he wondered if he Veela side had provided him with a familiar. His mother informed him it was likely his mate. Now that was stranger. He had a mate? Who? Where? He didn't understand. But his mother told him if he felt the bond then he'd likely find his mate, probably soon. They must be close if the connection is so strong. This had pacified Draco. From then on he'd paid closer attention to the feelings coming through this bond. He tried to comfort his mate when he felt feelings of sadness, loneliness, or hopelessness coming through to him. He thought this had helped his mate. And in return he'd felt feelings of support returned to him when he'd been going through the changes of the last few weeks. It'd helped him, too.

But now his mate's feelings were different, more desperate, and Draco's Veela instincts responded in kind. He needed to go. He needed to be wherever his mate was. Draco ran. He wasn't sure where yet, but he was running anyway. He stopped when he got right outside the door of his condo. His mate was calming down rapidly. They were still nervous, confused, and anxiety-gripped, but no longer frantic. Draco's Veela instincts again responded in kind, bringing his desperate need to find his mate down to a very pressing desire.

When Draco found his mate, he was going to make them tell him what had caused this desperation and he would make the person or thing atone. If not for his now stable mate, then for knocking five years off his own life.

* * *

Harry was calming down, but only just. He'd done so for the frenzied pleading of his friends and the steadily growing concern and agitation of his bonded. He didn't want to worry whoever it was overmuch.

But a Veela? Really? Could nothing, and he meant NOTHING, go right in his life? Must there always be these extra complications?

Before him stood an anxious Ron, Hermione, and Remus. Turns out Hermione had finally discovered what was happening to him based off his descriptions and the pictures he'd sent her. Seems she couldn't readily identify the markings because they were apparently original between each Veela coupling or Veela mate. The wing tattoo between his shoulders was both a reflection of the ones his mate apparently now sported and a precursor to his own pair.

He was a Veela. He was mated to another Veela. And apparently he was going to get wings. This was really too much.

He looked over at his friends. They had come because Hermione thought he needed to be told this in person and surrounded by friends rather than through a letter. She was right. Had he been told through writing, he'd likely have destroyed half his room by now. As it was, he'd just blown up at them for a few minutes before allowing them and his mate's presence to calm him down. As an afterthought he sent more calm feelings down his bond. Never knew what a worried Veela would do. He felt it being received and got his mate's calm reassurances in return.

Okay, he was a Veela, and he'd likely come into his own inheritance on his birthday in a few days. Fine, but he wasn't staying here for the fiasco. In no time flat he had his trunk packed and was looking at his companions expectantly. Hermione and Remus looked at Ron who shrugged. The Burrow it was.

* * *

Molly had been delighted to see him and Hermione had gotten permission from her parents to stay and was now rooming with Ginny. Remus had returned home to Tonks and so everything had settled down for a day or so.

Until harry started feeling he tingling in his back. It was 10:00p.m. the night before his 17th birthday. Hermione, having done her research thoroughly as usual, informed him this was the beginning of his wings coming in. the tingling would increase to a mild discomfort and end in excruciating pain at 12:00a.m. when his wings burst forth. This brought Harry back to nervousness, something for which his mate sent waves of comfort to him for. He calmed slightly by this and by the assurances of his friends that they'd be there for him the entire time and make him as comfortable as possible.

His friends had him playing repeated games of Exploding Snap and Wizard's Chess to pass the time. They would keep him distracted until they couldn't. It worked well until about 11:50p.m. The tingling had been getting increasingly uncomfortable before this, but now it hit the pain level.

When he gasped and could no longer take the pain silently, they made him lay in a bed they'd prepared for the occasion. For the next 8 minutes Harry ranged from moaning, groaning, and outright screaming out of pain. His vision was blurring from it and he was having trouble focusing on anything else beyond the agony in his back. An uproar was beginning around him, but that took a back seat as the sudden ripping open of his back definitely took precedence. He heard nothing as he screamed, and then his world went black.

* * *

For days Draco had been trying to figure out who his mate was. Surely there was some way to speed up the process. He'd found nothing. But the night of July 30th he felt something funny in his wings. Another tingling like before he got them. Then later he felt his mate's discomfort and pain. He decided the two were connected. His mate must be a Veela as well and coming into their inheritance tonight.

This only caused Draco to renew his efforts in finding his way to his mate. He would not let them come into this without him. But he'd found no way. By 11:55p.m. he'd decided to just follow the bond. He concentrated and just Apparated to where the bond told him his mate was.

He arrived outside the wards of someone's convoluted idea of a house, with additional structures built on to the original in random places in such a manner that Draco was astounded it even stood. But he forgot about it when another wave of internal pain came from his mate. He set about breaking down the wards.

It was 11:58p.m. He knew the wings would break through in another minute or so. He had to be there by then. In the midst of his destruction, some part of his brain recognized people coming out trying to stop him. None of them were his mate so he did not spare them anymore notice. The hexes they threw at him were absorbed by his wings and rebounded.

The wards were strong, but he didn't care. He had to get to his mate. When he finally made a hole big enough for himself, he burst through it at a run. The people still firing hexes at him were still inconsequential. He could have followed the bond to his mate when he got in the house, but he followed the screams instead. It hit an almighty pitch when he hit the stairs, then the scream died off into nothing. Damn. The wards had held too long. His mate had likely already blacked out before he got there.

He came into a room and made his way to a boy being surrounded by slightly bloody feathers. He walked now; his mate was unconscious, so there was no real need to run anymore. But the yells surrounding him were still unimportant. The people were still beneath his notice until he verified with his eyes his mate's state.

When he touched soft, red-white feathers, a piece in him clicked into place. Yes, this boy was his. He let his hand and eyes roam up to the face and was probably less surprised than he should be to see Harry Potter resting under his touch.

He barely even noticed the slight burn running up his back to his neck, creating a tattoo on his neck identical to that on his mate's.

* * *

**A/N**: The end of chapter 2. C'est la vie. You'll be happy to know that I've started chapter 3 already, though. :) It's roughly half done and so thus might be up tomorrow. We'll see.


	4. Coming to Terms

**A/N**: Whew! Another long chapter! So Microsoft Word doesn't seem to like me, so if it appears I've made up some words, it might be true. Or my MW just might not be updated with the latest English. Idk. But here you go! :D!

* * *

Of Dragons and Ravens

Chapter 3: Coming to Terms

Harry awoke to a cool cloth patting him on the face. He felt a constant wave of peaceful happiness coming through his bond. Seemed his bonded was pleased for whatever reason. Harry's eyes fluttered open to reveal a mix of pale and white and blond that initially confused him. There was no one in the Weasley household even marginally fitting that description. When his vision focused enough, he discovered he was looking into the face of Draco Malfoy.

Harry sat up too quickly and winced when he pulled at unfamiliar muscles in his back. He assumed these belonged to the new wings. Part of him wanted to look, but the majority of him was too focused on the boy before him. Harry was a mix of unsettling emotions. Surprise and fear and anger and anxiety. What was Malfoy doing here? How'd he find him? Did he bring Death Eaters with him? Clearly he could see Harry's wings; did he know what Harry was now? Where were the Weasleys and Hermione? Did he hurt them?

Harry was getting panicked and started looking frantically around, missing the hurt look in Draco's eyes, the wet cloth in his hand, the very large but slight drooping wings at his back, and the saddening feelings Draco inadvertently sent down their bond. He certainly didn't notice Draco currently didn't have a wand in sight.

Harry stopped when he saw a collection of Weasleys and Hermione nearby, but not too close to him and Malfoy. They looked a little uneasy, though in no way hurt, but made no move to come to him or remove Malfoy from the house. They all seemed to be looking between him and Malfoy.

Only then did Harry bother to give Malfoy his full attention. The boy had at some time in the last few seconds moved a short distance away from him. Not only that, but his entire expression had changed. His eyes were now slightly harder, his face was now guarded, his body stood ramrod straight, and if you touched his wings, they'd have been as hard as steel. And if Harry had bothered to check, he'd have noticed his bond to his mate was now slightly muted.

Harry still didn't understand. Though it should have been glaringly obvious by now, not wanting to believe something had a funny way of forcing incomprehension. Harry just stared into hard eyes looking back at him.

"Harry?" It was Hermione who spoke.

Harry looked over at her. "What's Malfoy doing here?" he asked her. He was going to play stupid until his nightmare was confirmed.

But before his query was answered, muted bond or no, a huge wave of sadness crashed over him through it. Harry gasped at the explosion of pain but dimly heard Hermione say, "It appears that he's your mate, Harry."

Harry's eyes returned to Malfoy, whose whole face and body seemed to have gotten harder since Harry had last looked at them a minute ago.

* * *

Draco had been so _happy_. He'd found his mate, his other half, the new reason for his very existence. It had been slightly annoying to discover that it was Harry Potter, but whatever. It made a strange kind of twisted sense. It didn't deter from Draco being pleased he'd been found.

It had taken awhile for him to settle the Weasley household (and really, who else's could it have been, looking as it did?) last night. They had yelled at him, threatened him, tried to force him away from Harry (like he'd let them succeed), and all manner of nonsense before they'd calmed down. It wasn't until he'd let Granger prod at and question him endlessly that they'd believed he really was a Veela just trying to help his mate.

Even with belief, they'd still been wary of him, still didn't trust him. Well good. They shouldn't. They still weren't friends and likely never would be, though he was less likely to harm them now since doing so would almost definitely hurt his mate, which Draco refused to do.

So he'd been here since last night, nurturing Harry and trying to rouse him from his changing sleep. It appeared the changes caused the body to grow quite warm during this sleep. No wonder his mother had taken a cool cloth to him.

Draco didn't let anyone else too close to his mate during this time, though Granger and mother and daughter Weasley wanted to help. Not only was this personal, his first interactions with the boy as his mate, but Draco didn't trust people around Harry when the boy was unable to defend himself. He didn't care if the people were friends and surrogate family.

When he'd sensed Harry's growing awareness of the world, Draco had sent wave after wave of peace and happiness to his mate. He wanted him to know he was welcome and wanted and could be loved.

But when Harry had first opened his eyes, Draco had felt the boy's confusion. That was alright. Harry didn't yet know who his mate was. But when Harry had looked at him with quite less than pleased emotions playing across his face and through their bond, Draco's spirits decidedly dropped.

When Harry saw the confused look on Harry's face as the boy watched the congregation in the corner who were looking between them, Draco hardened himself for the outburst he saw coming. Even his wings had hardened with the anticipation of an oncoming threat. He stepped a few paces away. Distance was needed now.

When Harry looked back at him, Draco was sure he saw the hard look on his face. Through a bond that was oddly muted, Draco felt a small bit of dawning comprehension that was quickly squashed by denial. This hurt, too. Draco's eyes hardened more in response to the feeling.

"Harry?" the bushy haired girl spoke.

Draco watched Harry as he looked over at his friend and asked, "What's Malfoy doing here?", his façade of denial still firmly in place.

This was almost more than Draco could take. He felt a piece of his soul break apart as his mate almost summarily rejected him. The Veela was crushed.

He saw Harry gasp at what must have been a reflection of his pain felt through the bond. Draco didn't care. "Let him feel what he did to me," he thought. "Let him feel the pain that he caused." But Draco knew his whole body had hardened impossibly more to combat the feelings. He would not show weakness, not to his mate and especially not among these lesser people. He absently heard Granger say, "It appears that he's your mate, Harry."

He saw Harry look at him and thought he might have seen a reflection of his sadness in his mate's eyes. If his friend's words hadn't convinced him, Draco thought the feelings coming through the bond just might have.

* * *

"Okay," Harry thought. So Malfoy was his mate. He almost didn't need the confirmation of his friend's words. The feelings through the bond were enough. Malfoy was his mate and apparently he had just hurt him terribly if the pain coming through the bond and the broken look trying to hide behind the Malfoy mask of pride were any indication.

Harry took a step toward the blond who tensed more, if such a thing were possible in such a hardened state. The older Veela slipped and let some wariness enter his eyes. Harry knew he was afraid of being rejected, if he hadn't already taken Harry's earlier question as such. By this point, Harry assumed he had.

But Harry couldn't reject him, at least not outright. Harry knew bad things happened to Veelas that were rejected by their mates. This didn't seem to be a problem for Harry; his mate seemed to have already accepted him.

But this alone is not why Harry could not reject Malfoy. If Malfoy was the one that Harry had been feeling for weeks now, if he was the one that had constantly supported Harry and comforted him, if he was the one who had let Harry in and made him feel that bit more welcome and protected and loved in a way that he had never felt before, then Harry knew there was more to Malfoy than he'd ever expected.

Harry closed the distance between them and looked Malfoy in the eye. He boy still looked at him warily. He could almost swear that the boy's wings were shaking. Harry smiled softly. Even after he'd hurt him, Draco still seemed to seek his approval and acceptance. So this was the power of Veela love. This is what it could reduce a Malfoy to.

Harry was almost inclined to kiss him, but thought that'd be a bit much just now. It'd likely shock not only Malfoy, but everyone else in the room. So instead Harry smiled a bit wider, sent a fresh wave of comfort down the bond, and held out his hand.

Harry felt Malfoy trying to accept the comfort, struggling with doubts about the new Veela before him. But eventually Draco did accept the comfort and Harry felt feelings of Draco's own comfort and acceptance moving back into him. Slowly, Harry felt their bond unmuting. Then Draco lifted a hand to clasp Harry's.

Just like with Draco, once this contact was made, something inside of Harry clicked into place. He felt a piece of his soul realign and thought, "Mine." This boy was his and that was it. If anyone asked later, Harry would only be able to describe the feeling as finally finding something that he never knew was missing.

And then Harry did kiss him. How could he not when he had just found his soulmate? Denial was no longer possible.

Harry felt Draco's surprise, but it didn't take long for the blond to respond appropriately. Harry duly noted the shocked silence of everyone else in the room, but they had faded into insignificance sometime around when Hermione had confirmed Draco was his mate or when he felt the impact his words had had on the other boy. Harry wasn't sure, but it really didn't matter.

Harry had gotten lost in the kiss and the feelings passed back and forth through the bond between him and his mate. He was only pulled back to reality by Ron making a decidedly retching gagging sound.

Harry blinked to discover that he and Draco had somehow ended up in each other's arms and limbs were tangled and feathers were mixed and they were both definitely mussed and so Harry laughed. This was the start of something phenomenal. Happy birthday to him!

* * *

Draco tensed further when he saw Harry step towards him. He was surprised his back didn't snap in half with the motion. Just how rigid could a body become before it broke? Draco felt his mask crack marginally as the wariness he was starting to feel began to overpower his desire to appear unphased. What would Harry do now? Would he reject Draco indefinitely this time?

Draco felt Harry's swirling emotions, though their bond was still dampened. The raven-haired boy must have been feeling fairly unsettled. Draco felt pity and doubt, but also realization and surprise. And…could that be the beginnings of acceptance?

When Harry moved to stand before him and look him in the eye, Draco was still nervous. This was the moment of truth. At this point, Harry would either accept or reject him, and given their past, Draco's insecurities had him leaning more toward the latter. Draco was so unsteady his wings were shaking (_bloody oversensitive things; Merlin, don't let anyone notice!_).

It was with infinite surprise that Draco saw a soft smile curve Harry's mouth, and some not quite recognizable desire light in Harry's eyes. Draco might have recognized the signs on someone else's face, but they didn't quite seem to belong on Harry's face, not at the moment.

But then Harry's smile widened and he held out his hand for Draco to take. Anyone in the room could see this and it likely shocked the lot of them (Draco knew it shocked him). But Harry also sent comfort to Draco through the bond, and no one else could tell. That was personal; that was for Harry and Draco alone.

Draco struggled to accept this. Harry's first rejection was still fresh on his mind and heart and so he had doubts about the boy. Eventually the desire to have him won out and he accepted Harry's feelings and sent back his own. There was comfort and acceptance of their bond and a bit of other emotions Draco didn't dare yet name thrown in. And with the dropping of Draco's barriers, he felt the bond undampen, as well.

When Draco took the offered hand before him, he felt a change in Harry. Apparently this felt right to the younger Veela, too. It was the flash of possessiveness that went through Harry that had Draco's feelings returning to their former elated state from when Harry awoke.

But nothing prepared him for when Harry kissed him. Surprise held him in place for a moment, but then he was kissing Harry back. With the tumultuous emotions whirling through him, surprise was almost immediately lost to the pleasure of having his mate's lips on his.

Draco didn't know how long they kissed. He had long since been lost in not only the feel of lips meeting lips, but of his mate in his arms (when did that happen?), and soft skin and soft feathers and growing arousals and such SENSATIONS! Not to mention the pleasures they shared not only physically but emotionally through their bond. All Draco knew was that he didn't ever want it to end.

But unfortunately, it did. Harry suddenly pulled back and Draco became aware of an utterly quiet room all save the youngest male Weasley making disgusting retching and gagging sounds over in the corner. Damn the boy! Draco was going to rip off his bollocks and shove them down his throat for interrupting his moment with his mate.

Draco was distracted from his torturous plans of castration by said mate's laugh. Draco looked into a face that was positively joyous. Even the feelings through the bond were exceptionally blissful, with a fair amount of amusement thrown in. Yes, Draco supposed this whole thing was rather funny, if you ignore the facts that he was a mess, standing in the Weasley household, and their first kiss had been a public spectacle to all of the inhabitants of said household plus Granger. On second thought, maybe it wasn't funny at all.

Harry must have seen his growing annoyance because he laughed harder for a moment before pecking him another kiss then detangling them. Arms and legs and wings (just LOOK at his feathers!) all a disjointed mess of Veela bodies that had Draco remembering he was surrounded by near enemies (he wasn't following Voldemort, but school-time grudges and animosities still counted, right?) and this was NOT how a Malfoy behaved (disassociation from his father aside, he was born and raised a Malfoy).

Draco collected what was left of his dignity and pride and set himself to rights. He gathered himself and looked at the assembled Weasleys and Granger that had yet to leave the corner. They all looked shocked, and the Weasel was still gagging, but it was Granger who recovered fastest and ran over to hug Harry.

Had Draco suspected any romantic feelings for his mate on her part, Draco would never have allowed this action. But Granger was merely worried about her friend, then curious about his condition. She proceeded to turn him into a veritable guinea pig, poking and prodding at him and firing a hundred questions a minute, much the same way she had done to Draco the night before. Harry handled this far better than Draco had, but Harry was used to the girl.

When she was finished, it seemed there was to be a birthday celebration. Draco had completely forgotten that today had to be his mate's birthday if he'd just come into his inheritance. Draco's own had been full of Veela inheritance and yelling fathers and surprising mothers and leaving home. He'd all but forgotten the occasion in lieu of concentrating on the many changes in his life (though his mother had sent him a nice gift when he'd been staying at the Leaky Cauldron). But apparently his mate's was a big deal.

The day from there on had passed pleasantly enough. Draco could tell he was unwelcome from almost all sides, though Granger seemed a bit more tolerant. It appeared her education on Veela had her trusting him to an extent, at least to not hurt Harry, and by extension the Weasleys and herself. No one else gave the impression of being this logical, however. Even the Weasley parents looked resigned though wary. It suggested that word had not yet gotten around that he had currently cut all ties with his father.

But it didn't matter whether they wanted him there or not. Harry didn't seem to mind his presence and he was staying by his mate's side until Harry explicitly told him to leave. Frankly, when he left this house, he had every intention of taking Harry with him, though he hadn't told the raven this part yet. They hadn't really had a chance to talk at all. He hoped he wouldn't have too much trouble convincing him.

Though neither Granger nor Weasley had yet approached Harry to ask how he felt about all this, Draco noticed meaningful looks passed between the three. Clearly, it would not go undiscussed. But that was fine. He was certain Harry would reassure the two that he was perfectly safe and happy with Draco. After all, Draco had no intention of hurting him and would die before he let anyone else do so (Harry's friends included, if it came to that; Draco knew the Weasel could be an unpredictable and often unreasonable friend). Draco also expected the budding couple to come and interrogate him. That was alright, too. He had no problem whatsoever telling the two about his perfectly innocent (depending on how you define the word) intentions toward their friend, especially if it kept them from causing trouble later. And he could tell them what he expected of them at the same time. He would have Harry; they were optional.

It was going well. Harry was happy, the celebrations seemed fun (especially thanks to the Weasley twins), Harry got an assortment of ridiculous presents, and all was more or less right with the world.

Draco was content, despite the people ignoring him (they seemed to think open disapproval and hostility too much work to maintain). Harry was happy, so Draco was happy. That is, until two figures appeared in the doorway that night.

Albus Dumbledore had arrived with Severus Snape.

* * *

**A/N**: Dun dun dunnnnnnn! Excellent place to stop, I thought. My goodness, what COULD Dumbledore be doing there. And bringing Snape to boot? Hmm.

So I read over this chapter again and happened to notice I have a thing for the word "seem." It was used 5 TIMES in one short paragraph. o.O If anyone catches me using said word more than 5 times in any one CHAPTER, smack me.


	5. Questions and Answers

Of Dragons and Ravens

Chapter 4: Questions and Answers

Harry had been enjoying his birthday celebrations. The twins gave him presents from their shop and let various other tester products be the entertainment. Ron got him a book about Quidditch and Hermione bought him a broom cleaning kit. Mrs. Weasley had baked him a delicious cake and Ginny got him a joke book. He was with pleasurable company all around.

Harry could tell that most of his surrogate family was uncomfortable with Malfoy around (and he knew that Draco sensed this, too). That was understandable. Malfoy hadn't been the most pleasant of people to them the last 6 years. But despite all this, Harry didn't think he was evil, just a git. Harry had a bit of a better understanding of Malfoy after all these weeks; if not the specifics, he knew Malfoy was nowhere near as cold and heartless as he'd been thinking of him. At the very least, he had emotional depth and a desire to be there for Harry. That fact went a long way in Harry's book. And above all this, Draco was Harry's mate. All things considered, Harry was fairly happy to have Draco there.

Everything was swell until two figures darkened the doorway. Professor Dumbledore had finally arrived, but he had Snape in tow. Harry couldn't imagine what the latter was doing there. All festivities stopped as the occupants of the room stared at the newcomers. It was an awkward few seconds. But then Dumbledore stepped forward in a façade of his usual merriment. In the seconds before Dumbledore spoke, Harry wondered what had taken the habitual twinkle from Dumbledore's eyes- the war in general, or the latest situation with him?

"Greetings everyone! And happy birthday to you, Harry," Dumbledore began. "I hate to disrupt your celebrations, but I wondered if I might have a word with you, Harry, and you, Mr. Malfoy?"

Despite it being phrased as a question, it was universally understood that it was not a request. Harry looked at Draco to find his mate also glancing at him before both rose to move toward Dumbledore and Snape. Where Dumbledore at least tried to put on his usual smile, Snape also bore his usual unapproachable face. When Harry, specifically, neared, the man's sneer became more pronounced.

"Might there be a room where we could have a bit of privacy?" Dumbledore asked Mrs. Weasley. She jumped then hurried out of the room to show him to a private chamber. Harry and Draco followed the adults out. After they got to a room, Molly left, and a few privacy spells were put up, Dumbledore and Snape turned to the two Veelas. Dumbledore spoke.

"So it appears you've both come into Veela inheritances and moreover are mates."

Harry assumed this was a question. Otherwise, telling them things that were obvious to the two people involved was pointless. So he nodded to answer the question.

Dumbledore continued, "Mr. Malfoy, despite your Veela instincts, you will forgive us if we must question your loyalties. Your familial connections to Voldemort cannot be overlooked."

Draco cut in here with, "I severed ties with my father almost two months ago on my 17th birthday. I have neither seen nor spoken to him since that day." This was a shock to everyone, Harry included. Draco hadn't been with his father in all that time? What about his mother? Had he switched sides in the war? And what was the reason? Numerous questions swirled around Harry's head.

Draco must have felt his confusion because he grabbed Harry's hand and gave it a quick squeeze before releasing it. On instinct, Harry grabbed Draco's hand back and held on. Harry felt the pleasure this brought to his mate, and then Draco intertwined their fingers. Harry gave a small smile for this. It felt right.

When he glanced back up at the professors, it was to see Snape openly glaring at their entwined fingers and Dumbledore looking thoughtful at the gesture. A small bit of the twinkle returned. Harry figured it must have been him and his new circumstances that had killed it. That or the situation just gave the man some measure of hope.

Dumbledore continued talking, although Harry guessed Snape had plenty to say at this point.

"While that is extremely interesting news, we would feel better if you would agree to being questioned under the influence of Veritaserum. We will not ask any invasive questions, we just want to put to rest the issue of your questionable position," Dumbledore said.

This outraged Harry. Yes, on a logical level, he supposed it made sense to get all that taken care of, but on an emotional level, it felt fundamentally wrong. He was going to say something to this affect, too, until he felt another squeeze on his hand. He supposed Draco again felt his turbulent emotions.

Draco spoke. "Sir, as a Veela, I would never do anything to harm my mate, which Harry is and which being a follower of Voldemort would undoubtedly do. But if you would like me to prove my intentions under oath, I do not mind doing so to put you all at peace of mind."

"Excellent!" was Dumbledore's response. Harry got annoyed again. Dumbledore continued, "Severus, if you would be so kind as to administer the required dosage, we may get these unpleasantries over with and be that much closer to being on our way."

Snape stepped forward, sneer still firmly in place while piercingly glaring at Harry, but softening considerably when he looked at Draco. Harry felt a mixture of amusement and annoyance from Draco at Snape's antics. It seemed it wasn't quite as funny when such open hostility was aimed at what was now his mate. Harry smirked.

Snape said, "Mr. Malfoy, you will be given three drops of pure Veritaserum, which will force you to tell the unadulterated truth for a minimum of 2 hours. This investigation should take no more than 45 minutes at the maximum, so for the duration of the remaining time, I suggest you stay away from all the Weasleys and Granger, and be careful around your…_mate_ if you wish to have any chance of escaping the Spanish Inquisition.

Harry was annoyed again at the man's insults to the Weasleys and Hermione, even if the likelihood was considerable of them doing just that. Harry felt Draco's annoyance, too, but thought it was likely at the insults directed at him. That he would use the chance to interrogate Draco and the insinuation in Snape's tone when he said the word "mate."

Harry didn't think he needed Veritaserum to question his mate. If he wanted to know something, he'd ask. Either Draco would tell him the truth, and he'd know, or Draco would hesitate to answer and the emotions that he gave off would tell Harry more than Draco's words ever could, anyway. He severely doubted Draco would outright lie to him. Harry was new to this Veela thing, but lying to your mate seemed essentially wrong to him. Or maybe that was his Gryffindor nature acting up. Hard to tell.

Despite his annoyance, Draco just nodded to Snape's words and stepped forward to accept the dose of Veritaserum on his tongue. He remained connected to Harry by the hand, though.

And so the questioning began, coming from both Dumbledore and Snape.

"Are you really a Veela?"

"Yes."

"Is Harry really your mate?"

"Yes."

"Are you a Death Eater?"

"No."

"Do you have plans to ever become a Death Eater?"

"No."

"You have severed all ties with your father?"

"Yes."

"And with your mother?"

"No."

"Is she a Death Eater?"

"I don't believe so."

And on the questioning went. A solid 30 minutes of an endless stream of them until they hit an interesting one.

"So you are now on the side of the Light?"

"I don't know."

This brought them up short. Dumbledore and Snape shared a glance before Dumbledore asked, "May you explain?"

Draco followed, "Yes. My only side is Harry's. I will do whatever I need to do to secure his safety and happiness. If that means fighting on the side of the Light, I will do so. If that means becoming a spy, I will do so. If that means remaining neutral until I am forced to choose, I will do so. Whatever is needed to keep my mate safe, I will do."

Dumbledore blinked at Draco. "You would become a Death Eater spy?"

"I would not like to, as I had no plans to suffer at the hands of the man that has so twisted my father, but if it is what Harry needs from me, I will do so," Draco responded.

This is where Harry interrupted. He'd been quiet during the initial questioning and then shocked silent during Draco's speeches, but he spoke up now. "No!" he said. "I do not need nor do I want you to be a spy for me. In fact, I forbid it."

Draco, whose face was impassive for the questioning and his speeches, sparked to life now. His eyes glinted with mischief as he looked at Harry and he smirked as he looked back toward Dumbledore and Snape. "Well there you have it," he said, "I cannot be a Death Eater spy. My mate will not allow it. So I suppose that option is off the table."

Dumbledore looked mildly disappointed by this and both Harry and Snape glared at him fiercely. Looked like even Snape could only stand so much from the old man.

Draco sent Harry comfort to ease him, and Harry grudgingly accepted it. He wanted to stay angry at the old man. Wasn't it enough that he tried to control his and Snape's lives? Now he wanted Harry's mate's too? He wouldn't get Draco. Harry would see to it he didn't.

After a few more questions, Dumbledore and Snape wrapped up their investigation. They were now satisfied that Draco was not a Death Eater, not directly or indirectly acting on Voldemort's orders, not likely to physically hurt Harry or intentionally cause him emotional harm, and all manner of other things Harry probably could have told them himself had either bothered to ask him.

But Dumbledore spoke to Draco once more before departing. He said, "Now, this is not part of the investigation and therefore you are not obligated to answer, but I request that you give in to an old man's curiosity. How do you feel about becoming a Veela and finding out you are mated to Harry Potter?"

Harry's annoyance seemed to be right under the surface tonight. Or maybe it was just when it came to these two men. That was an extremely personal question and Dumbledore had no right to ask it of his mate. But Draco only seemed to feel thoughtful, not offended, so Harry made no protest. He figured Draco was so calm because he wasn't actually required to answer.

"I feel a lot," Draco began. "Becoming a Veela was unexpected, but thrilling. I love the extra strength it gives me, and the ability to fly. The wings have quite grown on me. And I love that now I can protect. I always felt useless because I couldn't protect my parents from the Dark Lord. Now I see my father doesn't really want protection, but I can still help my mother if she needs me. And I can protect my mate. He is the most important thing, though my mother comes second. As for him being Harry Potter, that ceased to be important. I admit I was originally annoyed upon discovering my mate's identity, but that was almost immediately forgotten. It no longer mattered who my mate was, only what he was. And what he is is mine. Mine to protect. Mine to respect. Mine to love. There is now nothing I will not do for what is mine."

Now Harry did not consider himself the sentimental type. 10 years with the Dursleys and 6 years with a madman trying to kill him had hardened Harry to a point, but Draco's response definitely had his heart softening. And if his eyes slightly misted, he'd be damned if he'd admit it. Instead, he sent wave after wave of happiness and pleasure to Draco who turned to smile winningly at him.

And then Draco kissed him. And everything was better. It was a short thing, but enough to make Harry smile and get a point across to the professors. Dumbledore was smiling softly and Snape had a look of utter disgust, but for once Draco did not let it affect him. It appeared he was too happy.

After Snape and Dumbledore had checked over both Harry and Draco for health and such with their Veela bodies, the men departed. Harry and Draco remained in the privacy warded room until the last of the Veritaserum wore off. They had a half hour remaining.

They sat in silence for a few minutes before Draco started playing with Harry's fingers with the hand not still laced with Harry's. Harry felt a moment of nervousness from Draco before the blond said, "Harry, wasn't there anything you wanted to ask me?"

Harry looked at him. He wondered if Malfoy had a specific question he expected Harry to ask, or if his fear was of the unknown. It didn't matter. Harry had neither. He returned, "Plenty, but they can wait for some other time. I don't want to ask when you'll be forced to answer truthfully. I trust you to answer me honestly without Veritaserum, or give answer enough in your attempts to dodge a question. I don't believe you would lie to me, but that may be wishful thinking."

Draco blinked at him for a moment before crushing his lips to Harry's in a drawn out kiss. Though their first kiss had been spectacular and their second very sweet, this one was something more. Maybe it was because it was their third. Third time's the charm, and all that. Or maybe it was because this was their first private kiss. The others had been personal, but still public events. It was different when people were alone and all barriers could be dropped. But Harry thought it was because of all the emotion Draco was putting behind it. Not just the happiness of finding one's mate or the lust of wanting them or the sweet feelings from being treasured, but the humbled honor of being so trusted and the desire to prove himself worthy of such trust. Draco was baring his soul in a kiss and asking Harry to accept him. This time, Harry did so gladly.

* * *

Draco was speechless. He was just so bloody _thankful_ that this boy was his mate. This selfless, generous, trusting, too good for him boy was his. And so Draco kissed him for all he was worth. What else could he do in the face of such unquestioning love?

He'd been annoyed since he and Harry had been called into the room, but hid it behind one of his famous Malfoy masks. First, Dumbledore had asked a stupidly obvious question (Did he not see the WINGS protruding from their backs? And would Draco be here [in the _Weasley_ household] if not intimately involved with someone within it?) and then he'd questioned Draco's loyalties (Fine, he could see the logistics of it, but it irked nonetheless; did they really think he'd harm his mate in any way if he could prevent it?). So he'd told them he cut ties with his father. It was true, after all. Draco wanted nothing to do with the Dark Lord and separating himself from his father seemed the best way to go about this.

Draco knew this shocked everyone. He could even feel Harry's shock, so he squeezed his mate's hand in support. It just felt like the thing to do at the time. But Draco had been very happy when Harry had grabbed and hung on to his hand back. Harry took his word at face value and supported him. People this good were so hard to come by nowadays. And Draco had one. He laced their fingers.

And then Dumbledore asked to question him under Veritaserum. Draco felt Harry's righteous anger at this offense, but it didn't affect Draco further. He'd seen it coming when Dumbledore first spoke of his loyalties. But Harry's anger gave him more hope so he squeezed his mate's hand before agreeing.

When Snape stepped forward with his usual sneer for Harry and his warmer (if such a word could describe any look for the man) look for Draco, Draco found himself getting slightly annoyed. Snape's preferential treatment of him had always been a source of amusement for Draco, but now the animosity aimed at his mate grated on his nerves. Nobody disrespected what was his. When Snape spoke, Draco got more annoyed. Snape's barely veiled insults at Harry and the venom used when he spoke the word "mate" had Draco on edge. Whether Snape liked it or not, Harry was Draco's mate and Draco was quickly going to educate the man on what was and what was not appropriate behavior regarding said mate. But for now he'd remain respectful. He accepted the Veritaserum.

Then the inquisition had begun. For a solid half hour they questioned him about inane things that were clearly not so being what he was, but he answered anyway. When they'd asked him about fighting on the Light side, his answer had been indirect. He thought it rather obvious that Harry was now his only concern and he'd do whatever was necessary to secure Harry's safety and happiness. But some people needed that extra bit of explaining to understand, so he explained. But Draco had been so thrilled, in a cocky sort of way, that Harry had so vehemently refused to let him play spy. He had no wish to come before the man that wanted his mate dead, nor did he want to face his father. Luckily both Harry and Snape seemed to share this sentiment. But Draco comforted Harry in his anger, anyway.

After the official interrogation where Dumbledore and Snape satisfied themselves that he was no real threat to Harry, Dumbledore proceeded to ask him some intensely personal question. He didn't have to answer, and the fact that he hadn't had a chance to speak privately to Harry about anything yet made him disinclined to, but he gave it thought anyway. And so he answered truthfully, as the Veritaserum still in his system dictated he must, and he spoke from the heart. He wanted everyone present to know how he felt about his mate.

When Harry responded well to this, Draco smiled at then kissed him. It was a "seal the deal" kind of thing and showed everyone he meant what he said. After the adults checked them over then left, Draco just sat with Harry for awhile. Despite Draco's annoyance at Snape insinuation, he was slightly worried that Harry would begin questioning him when he couldn't lie. They didn't have the best of histories and he'd had plenty of secrets during that time. But Harry made no move to ask, so Draco asked him. But Harry's answer had surprised him. He wouldn't take advantage of the situation. And so Draco had kissed him, because this boy was more than he ever expected to get in this life, despite his growing up in pureblood, aristocratic privilege. None of that was real. This was. Harry was. And Harry was his. Finally.

* * *

**A/N**: I so almost didn't include Draco's take to this chapter. I mainly felt it wasn't needed. But a bit of explanation here and there seemed a kindness, so I summed up the other crap. Hope you enjoyed!


	6. Discussions and Decisions

**A/N**: Soooo, I haven't updated in almost a month. Forgive me. My muse abandoned me. But I forced her out of hiatus yesterday and came up with this chapter. But, since many things change with my mood, my writing being one of them, the interactions between the characters are a bit different from last chapter. But hopefully it wasn't too much of a change. I tried to keep them in character, mostly. Hope you enjoy and thanks for reading/reviewing/following/favoriting!

* * *

Of Dragons and Ravens 

Chapter 5: Discussions and Decisions

They sat the remaining half hour talking of nothing important. They stayed away from personal or private matters until Draco's tongue was back under his own will. The time ticked away slowly as they ran out of polite conversation. Talking about the weather and their choices of professional Quidditch teams to win this year's Quidditch Cup didn't last long. The conversation livened up a bit when the topic strayed to their personal House Quidditch teams, though. Mates or not, Draco was still arrogant enough to be convinced of his superiority over Harry, at least outside of his own head. It wouldn't do to admit that the raven was better than him.

But Harry laughed as if Draco's superior talk did not faze him in the least. Draco guessed that it didn't. After five years of playing against each other and Draco only getting the better of him once in their sixth year while Harry was distracted, he likely knew better than to believe Draco's personal hype. But he didn't taunt Draco about this fact. He let the truth speak for itself. They talked of their classes for this coming year as the last minutes ticked away. They both had Advanced Transfiguration, Advanced Herbology, and Advanced Potions, but Draco had dropped Care of Magical Creatures and Divination for Advanced Arithmancy and a free period. Harry kept Care of Magical Creatures and Advanced Defense Against the Dark Arts.

As Draco felt the chaining compulsion to speak honestly release him, he thought now would be a good time to ask Harry to come home with him. Draco really didn't want to stay in the Weasley household longer than he had to, but he wanted to make sure that Harry left with him when he did. But he also knew Harry enjoyed being here and likely wouldn't want to leave anytime soon. Draco prepared himself to convince him. First he'd test his lying ability, though. He didn't plan to lie to Harry, and as Harry noted, he'd likely be aware if Draco did anyway, but he wanted the choice to be his own. He spoke into the silence that had engulfed them since their talk about their classes had died.

"Ask me what my name is," he told Harry.

Harry looked at him funny for a moment, but did as he requested. "Um, what's your name?"

"Draconius Abraxas Malfoy," Draco said. He felt a tingle on his tongue as he told the lie, but he was able to tell it.

Harry's eyebrows rose. "Is it really?"

"No," Draco responded. "I just wanted to see if I was still under the effects of the Veritaserum. It's actually Draco Lucius Malfoy. There is no addition to my first name, and that middle name belonged to my grandfather."

"Ah," was Harry's less than useful addition.

"Now, I-" Draco began, but hesitated. He wasn't quite sure how to approach the issue. He was sure he could convince Harry to come home with him, but he wasn't sure if he could do it tonight. Might as well just get right into it. "I wanted to talk to you about coming home with me. I know you enjoy being in this…house with your friends, but I was hoping you would consider joining me at my condo for awhile. Until school began, perhaps. There really is a lot to talk about and a lot we should get to know about each other, preferably before school starts and we're forced away from each other again due to our Houses…" Draco trailed off as he looked at the shocked expression on Harry's face. The boy looked positively thunderstruck.

"But…I….what….you…huh?" was Harry's uncomprehending reply.

He blinked stupidly at Draco and Draco could feel Harry's shock through their bond. He wasn't surprised. He'd known Harry would be taken aback by the question. The fact that he hadn't rejected the notion outright was enough for Draco to sit back and let the question really penetrate Harry's head. But he'd repeat it for repetition's sake.

"I want you to come to my condo and stay with me until school starts. I'd like to leave tonight, but I imagine that'd be a bit soon for you," Draco said again.

"Tonight?!" Harry squeaked. His face was a strange color, as if it couldn't decide between paling with his stunned state, or blushing from the implications that he could be living with Draco, probably alone, for the next month.

Draco really was hard put not to laugh at the look on Harry's face. His own nervousness with asking the question was quite dissipated in light of Harry's own mortification. His embarrassment was endearing, really. Harry scowled at him as he seemed to notice the amused smirk on Draco's face.

"Are you serious, or are you just having me on?" Harry demanded. He did not seem amused.

"Oh, I'm quite serious," Draco told him. "I just also thought your reaction rather funny."

"Oh," said Harry. After which he just looked at Draco.

Draco felt a touch along their bond, like questing fingers searching for something, and he assumed Harry was trying to convince himself that Draco was telling the truth. Draco smirked again.

"I…don't know," Harry said. Draco didn't know if this was in response to his request or to Harry's search. "I don't know anything about where you live or anything. And the thought of living alone with you is…new," Harry finished as the top of his ears turned red. Well that answered that.

Draco grinned at him. He felt Harry's embarrassment and knew he was likely thinking of the intimacy of such a thing. Draco had never heard any rumors about The Boy Who Lived being bent, but by Harry's reactions, he didn't seem repulsed by the idea of being with another boy. Draco himself had never ventured into dating another bloke. He'd never even thought too much about it, though teenage hormones made him curious now and again. He had been fairly secure in his sexuality until now. He thought the change came solely from being mated to another boy, and was fairly sure it was the same for Harry. But it really didn't matter now. They belonged to each other now, former sexual preferences aside.

"I know it might seem strange, but I think it's something we should try," Draco told him. "The research I've done so far on Veela has indicated that once the initial meeting between mates is made, we should not be too far apart from each other for too long a time. We will eventually feel compelled to return to each other's presences. If we stay separated for a significant enough time, ignoring the compulsion, it will get…uncomfortable. I imagine it will be something akin to the pain we felt when our wings came in, starting with a mild discomfort and culminating into excruciating pain. Personally, I'd rather avoid that eventuality."

Draco looked to find that Harry was just staring at him. His eyes had gotten a bit wider toward the end, and Draco assumed he was remembering the pain of growing the wings. He was smart enough to want to avoid such a feeling again, Draco knew.

"Um,…how long until we start to feel the…discomfort?" Harry asked.

Draco narrowed his eyes a bit. This was not going the way he'd hoped. He had expected Harry to be more than willing to join him when he found out that there would be pain if they separated. Instead Harry seemed to be trying to figure out how long he could manage to stay away from Draco before pain forced him into Draco's company again. But maybe he just wanted to avoid living with Draco, or maybe he just wanted all the facts. Who could say, really? But Draco didn't intend to lie to him in any case.

"I believe we could go a week or two at the most without seeing each other before the real pain began. The tingling would likely start a few days before that, however, as a reminder. I don't know the maximum timeline for us to be apart without the blinding pain, nor what would be the results of testing that limit. All the cases I read had Veela that surrendered to the agonized compulsion before that actuality struck. It might result in death for one or both of us. Hard to say," Draco informed him.

Harry's eyes had gone wide again. "And how long do we have to be together to avoid activating the compulsion?"

Draco's eyes narrowed further. "I don't know. The question never came up in my reading," he said.

Harry seemed to feel Draco's aggravation at his dodgy questions. He raced to reassure him, "Not that I don't want to spend time with you or anything! It's just that the thought of living with you was unexpected. And I've never been in your company for any extended amount of time. You have to remember that we've never particularly gotten along Mal-Draco," he amended, clearly seeing the flash in Draco's eyes. "…even if this past year we weren't as hell-bent on destroying each other. I'm just not sure how well this'll go or how long it'll last before we're back to trying to get at each other's throats."

Draco had to concede that Harry had a point. They belonged to each other now, yes, but they were still the same people. For five years they had been at odds. Their sixth year had been noticeably smoother, though. Since Draco had stopped idolizing his father and trying to please him, he'd had time to think about a few things for himself. Like Harry Potter. Sure, he had still been everyone's hero and therefore an annoyance to Draco by default, but he hadn't been a constant source of hate for Draco. For a large part of sixth year, Harry had been drawn into himself. Draco had caught wind that it was because he was mourning someone he had lost during the Department of Mysteries fiasco at the end of fifth year. Draco's own father had narrowly escaped a stay in Azkaban for his part in that. Draco found out a few well placed memory charms and a lot more well placed bribe money went a long way with Ministry officials. Either way, Draco had largely ignored Harry then. It's not that he avoided him, outright. He just didn't try to antagonize him like he used to. Not that it would have mattered anyway. It seemed that most of sixth year Harry hadn't been fazed by anything going on around him. Not even the few nastier pranks some lower year Slytherins played on him got much of a reaction (apparently once Draco's feuding with Harry had stopped, others decided they ought to take over). It wasn't until about Christmas that he got a bit of spark back into him.

"You have a point," Draco replied. "But that is exactly the reason why we should try. If we must spend so much time together, then we ought to learn how to get along. We are going to have to get used to each other invading one another's space. That will not happen more quickly nor more completely than if we live together. Besides, we will be with each other a lot during school anyway. The compulsion will guarantee it. Might as well get a jump start on it. And it will seem awfully odd to everyone why I keep kissing you if the general consensus is that we hate each other."

And then Draco kissed him. Because he could and because he wanted to and because it felt damn good. Harry had given a surprised gasp in the instant before Draco's lips closed over his, but he didn't resist. Draco knew that Harry felt just as much as he did when they were joined like this. This kiss wasn't as emotion-filled as their last, but it was still chock full of the desire and passion Draco felt for Harry.

It was a long moment before they released each other. Draco was less surprised than last time to discover his wings had been drawn to Harry's again. They acted as if they were magnetized when the two were kissing, and for all Draco knew, they were. But they were meshed together and thus the boys had to detangle them all over again.

Harry had the nerve to laugh, just as he had last time. "We really have to figure out how to stop them from doing that," he said. But as he moved to remove his wing from Draco's, he ended up stroking Draco's wing, instead.

Draco stilled and closed his eyes at the sensation. He knew the wings were sensitive. They had given him a very pleasant tingle when his mother had stroked them and he himself loved the softness of them. But nothing he had felt thus far compared to what ran through him as Harry touched his wings. He all but convulsed with the pleasure that it gave him. As it was, he couldn't stop the small shiver that shook him in response to it. No wonder he had gotten lost in their first kiss if such a feeling were a part of it. He was surprised he hadn't noticed it then, but picking out each point of pleasure had been too much a task just then. He'd just added it up in the whole. But now…

Draco opened his eyes to find Harry looking at him. There was a bit of wonder in his eyes and Draco wondered what Harry had felt when he'd touched Draco's wing. But then a mysterious glint found its way into Harry's eyes. He reached forward and stroked Draco's wing again, a bit more firmly. This time Draco did convulse. That heightened delight ran through him again, but stronger this time. _Merlin!_ He shivered again before looking back at Harry to see the boy had a mischievous smile to match that mysterious glint. _The git!_ He'd done that on purpose. Draco believed in nothing so much as payback. He pounced on Harry and gave the other boy's wings a solid stroke down each one.

Harry moaned. Loud. And Draco knew why as he felt the response coming through their bond. The effect of his strokes gave Harry an exquisite burst of pleasure. And Draco's hands tingled warmly where they touched Harry's wings. Seemed Harry's wings were just as sensitive as Draco's. But maybe more so since Harry hadn't had any time to get used to them. Draco pulled Harry to him and moved to conquer his lips again. He was in the process of all but devouring the boy's mouth when feet came running and there was a sudden pounding on the door accompanied by yelling voices.

* * *

"Harry?! Are you alright? We heard you yelling! What's that prat doing to you? " came Ron's voice from the other side of the door.

Harry blinked slowly as reality trickled back into his awareness. He had been completely focused on Draco and the wonderful things he could do with his mouth just a moment ago. When realization dawned, he looked apologetically up at Draco. Clearly, they'd come running because they'd heard him moaning. Then he blushed. It was a good thing they hadn't heard it for what it was.

Draco grinned devilishly down at him. "The wards are still on the door," he told Harry. "Go away!" he yelled toward the door. "We're busy in here!" He made to move back in on Harry, but Harry squirmed away. He'd never live it down if he allowed Draco to run Ron and Hermione and whoever else was stationed outside that door away. But it seemed he'd worried for nothing. The pounding stopped for half a second before increasing its intensity.

"Harry?" Harry heard Hermione say tentatively. "Are you okay in there?"

Harry sighed. "I'm fine," he spoke loudly toward the door. "We'll be out in a minute."

He looked back at Draco to find the blond was slightly scowling at him. "Five more minutes wouldn't have killed them," he muttered. Harry barked a laugh at him before giving him another quick peck then going to open the door.

Ron and Hermione were accompanied by the other Weasley children in residence. Ginny, Fred, and George all looked like they were stuck between concern for Harry and wanting to attack Draco. Ron had no such qualms. All his animosity was aimed directly at the Slytherin who, if Harry had bothered to look at he would have noticed, was giving the lot of people filling the doorway a dismissive look. Hermione just looked back and forth between Harry and Draco, likely looking for any hostile waves coming off either party. Harry knew she found none. He and Draco were likely giving off another kind of wave, though.

"Harry, we have not finished our discussion," Draco told him. Harry turned to see Draco was giving him a look.

"Right," Harry replied, recalling Draco's request that they move in together. "I just, let me talk to Ron and Hermione first, yeah?" Draco rolled his eyes but didn't argue. "Alright, we'll be back," Harry told him before turning to leave the room with his friends. Harry noticed the other Weasleys didn't seem content to just let Draco be alone unsupervised in their house, as they moved into the room to watch him. Now Harry rolled his eyes, but didn't comment on it. He figured Draco could handle them.

He followed Ron and Hermione up the stairs until they reached Ron's room. Harry had barely sat down on his bed before Ron started in on him.

"What the bloody hell was going on in there, Harry? You stayed in there for almost an hour after Dumbledore left. I'd have come to get you sooner had Dumbledore not instructed us to leave the two of you alone for another forty-five minutes or so. Mum only relented enough for us to collect you when we heard you cry out. What'd he do?" Ron demanded.

Harry barely held back the blush. "He didn't do anything, Ron. I shouldn't have called out. We were just having a…discussion… that got a bit boisterous. I didn't mean to make you come running."

"Well what else did you expect us to do? We're still on edge waiting for Malfoy to try something. When you screamed, we thought he finally had," Ron said gruffly.

Harry sighed. "He's not going to try anything, Ron. Did Dumbledore tell you lot anything about what he and Snape were doing here?"

"No," Hermione answered before Ron could. She had just been standing in the room before, observing Harry as Ron questioned him. "But I assume they came to question Draco's involvement with you and the status of your being mates. Was it something like that?"

Harry looked at her. "It was all that and more. Questioned him under Veritaserum about his being a Veela, his being my mate, his association with Voldemort, which he doesn't have, by the way. He disassociated himself from his father early last month and therefore from Voldemort, currently. I imagine it will get a bit ugly when he returns to school, what with all the Death Eater children still in his House. But there were a lot of questions they asked. At the end of it, they were convinced that Draco was not a danger to me or those I'm close to. He won't try anything that will hurt us," he finished.

Hermione just stared at him while Ron looked like he was thinking of some other argument to say that Draco was still plotting against them in some way. Harry knew Ron wouldn't let this go so easily.

"What did you do after the teachers left?" the redhead settled for asking.

"We talked, mostly. That eventually led to other things," Harry answered with a suggestive smirk. It didn't take them long to catch his meaning. Hermione blushed and Ron gagged again.

"Mate, spare me. I really don't need ANYMORE images of what you and Malfoy were doing in that regard. I've already got enough to last a lifetime," Ron said through a mouth twisted in a disgusted frown.

Harry's smirk increased to have gotten such a reaction out of them. But then a thought struck him. "Hermione, will you touch my wings, please?" He needed to know why they had reacted that way to Draco. Hermione's poking and prodding earlier had not had such a result.

"Sure, Harry," the girl said without further question. Harry realized this was not such a task for her. Even more than liking the feel of the wings, Harry suspected that Hermione thrilled at the opportunity to inspect them at close range again. Harry's invitation simply let her get her hands on them sooner.

And her hands caused a pleasant feeling to come to Harry. It was nothing like the electrified jolt of having Draco stroke them. "Ron, would you mind touching them? I'm trying to see something," he asked his best friend. Ron seemed a lot less inclined to touch Harry's wings than Hermione, but he complied with Harry's request. His touch, too, caused a slight agreeable shock to run through Harry, but still it was nothing on par with Draco's touch. Harry wondered if the significance was that Draco was his mate. That likely would make the reaction different than touching anyone else.

"Alright, thanks," Harry told them, causing them to stop their hands running along his wings any further. "Now I need to discuss something with the two of you," he said in a tone that made them exchange a glance before sitting down opposite Harry and waiting for him to continue.

Harry, too, hesitated here. How could he approach this? Hermione would likely be slightly shocked that Draco had asked Harry to move in with him. But she would see the logic in it and possibly approve. Ron would not even bother looking for any reason behind it. He'd likely see it as a trap or something. He was bound to yell and stop hearing Harry at all after the announcement had been made. Harry decided to tell them the reasons before the request.

"Draco said he'd been doing some research on Veela…," he began.

"_DRACO?!_" Ron yelled. "Since when isn't he _Malfoy_? He's got you confused already. Did he cast some kind of charm on you? Hermione, check him over for Dark spells," Ron told his girlfriend.

This was bad already. Harry hadn't meant to call Draco by his given name aloud. But since Draco had rebuked Harry earlier for almost saying his surname, Harry had tried to change the names in his head. It was bound to find its way out of his mouth eventually, but now was inopportune. Now Ron was likely to only hear every other word again. "_Malfoy_," Harry stressed, "has been doing some research on Veelas. He discovered that after a mated pair meet, they are more or less compelled to remain together. Otherwise, the separation becomes painful, like getting the wings."

Ron interrupted again. "What?! You mean you're stuck having to keep that slimy git around or it'll hurt you? I don't believe it. I want to see…er, have Hermione look over his _research_. I think he's making that up."

Harry didn't agree. He was fairly certain Draco hadn't lied about anything to him thus far, not including the test for the wearing off of the Veritaserum. But it was an acceptable request. Hermione should look over Draco's research sources.

"What did he say the details of this separation are, Harry?" Hermione asked him. She did not look as shocked as Ron was, however. She'd done her own research on Veela since figuring out Harry was one, after all. She was likely just checking facts now.

"He said we could go about two weeks without having to see each other before it hurt. A few days before that the wings would remind us of the separation. He didn't know what would happen if we ignored the call and stayed away, but that it could result in death for us eventually," Harry informed her.

"_WHAT?!"_ Ron began before Hermione cut him off.

"Based on the research I've done, that seems to be about right, Harry. I'd like to see his sources, anyway, to compare them, but my conclusions all pointed toward the same thing," Hermione said.

"I can't believe this load of bollocks-," Ron was saying, but Harry cut him off this time.

"Which brings me to my real point. Malfoy asked me if I would come live with him for the next month. He apparently has a condo somewhere and wants to use the time for us to…get to know each other," Harry told them with a slight blush. The thought of living alone with Draco still embarrassed him slightly.

There was no outburst at first. Ron had reeled backed from the suggestion as if it had slapped him. Hermione's eyebrows had risen in shock, but now she was looking thoughtfully at him, as if considering it. But Ron's silence couldn't last.

"He must be nutters! To even _think _that you would consider living with him! Definitely off his bloody rocker. I'm sure you told him no. But then…-" Ron trailed off.

"But then why would he be discussing it with us?" Hermione finished for him. "Harry is clearly considering the proposal."

"Ugh! Hermione, would you _please_ not call it that?" Ron asked with disgust. "I'm having enough trouble as it is."

Harry just laughed at this. It wasn't like they needed a proposal of marriage at this point anyway. He and Draco were already mated for life. That's more binding than any marriage. At least in the muggle world. Wizards did have some marriage rituals that bound the couple together for life.

Ron just scowled at him. "How can you even laugh at this? You're now stuck with that poof forever."

It was Harry's turn to scowl, and his was a lot more menacing. "Don't call him that."

Whatever brain cells Ron possessed seemed to be functioning currently because he didn't respond to that at all. Hermione moved on.

"Do you want to go live with him, Harry? I mean, you could get by with not doing so. The compulsion to be with each other would let you stay away for about a week or so, so you could do it. Sporadic visits throughout the next month would be enough to avoid the physical pain. Though I do wonder if there would be emotional or psychological pain caused by the separation…" she trailed off, clearly drawing into her own head to contemplate.

Harry hadn't even considered this. Would there be? He wasn't particularly interested in finding out. "I haven't decided yet if I want to try living with him. I mean, I know it's a reasonable move, because if we are forced to be together, we have to try to figure out how to try to get along; but living with him was more than I expected. Being mated to him was more than I expected, actually." This last was said in an undertone. "But…I think I might be willing."

Ron just gaped at him. Hermione was giving him an approving look. "I think it might be a good idea, too, Harry."

Ron turned his stunned look on his girlfriend, but seemed to realize yelling at her would not be a good move on his part. His mouth just opened and closed a few times in a startlingly good imitation of a fish, before it shut into a firm line and his scowl returned. "Fine," he said to them, "but I want to talk to him first."

This didn't bother Harry too much, although it probably should. He loved his friends, but they didn't determine what he would do. He'd just wanted to talk it through with them, see the issue from all sides. But frankly, he got the impression Draco wanted to talk to them, too, although Harry could only imagine the results of that discussion. Images of World War III came to mind. But his choice was made. He was going.

* * *

A/N: Annnnnd there you have it. Chapter 5. Hopefully that went alright. This was my longest chapter yet for either of my stories, so I'm proud of what I got my muse to do. Hopefully you liked it! And to aiden, my unregistered reviewer, THANK YOU! :D! I hope this satisfied your desire for the next chapter. Don't forget to review, everyone! :D!


	7. Defining Stipulations

**A/N**: So, I got this chapter out even faster than I expected. I feel kind of bad because I haven't updated my other story yet, but these ideas are just coming along better. Hopefully that will stay the case. Enjoy and thanks to all!

* * *

Of Dragons and Ravens 

Chapter 6: Defining Stipulations

Draco found himself under the direct scrutiny of all three remaining Weasleys after they had moved into the room when Harry and his sidekicks departed. They had each perched upon some surface to make themselves more comfortable while they studied him. And though his wings hardened at the perceived threat, Draco met their gazes evenly. He would not be intimidated by anyone, least of all Weasleys.

But since he was being examined so closely, he decided he could take the same liberty with them. He first looked at the twins. He couldn't tell them apart, not that he tried all that hard. What were their names? Gred and Forge? That didn't sound right, though he was sure he'd heard someone call them that before. Whatever; it didn't really matter. He was sure their names were some plebeian things. It was hard not to think you were seeing double when you looked at them. It was enough to give Draco a headache. He moved on.

He turned his attention to the girl. Wasn't her name Winny? Draco wondered if that was short for Winifred. He considered telling her she'd seem marginally less common if she were referred to by her proper first name, though there was no saving her from her last name. He could only pray that she would change it in marriage. And she was a pretty enough chit when she dropped the scowl. Draco had seen her smiling enough at Harry to know she had the potential for beauty. Though as he dwelled on this fact he became less generous. She'd better get out of the habit of smiling at Harry so often; he belonged to Draco now.

The group stared at each other in silence for awhile. Draco couldn't continue to watch them for overlong, though. There was only so much you could notice about them and they soon lost his interest. He withdrew into his own head and wondered how Harry's talk with his friends was coming. He assumed he'd hear it when Harry told them of his plans. The Weasel was not known for holding his temper or keeping his voice down. Draco smirked at the thought. They were in for a world of shock.

His attention was drawn back to his wardens when the twins shifted. Why had they both moved? They weren't even sitting together. Their connection was very odd. Draco would have to look up the effects of a twin relationship sometime. But he focused back in to realize both their gazes had sharpened on him. They began to speak.

"So you think-," one of them started.

"-you're good enough for our Harry," the other finished.

Draco blinked. Not knowing the twins or being around them, he certainly wasn't used to their shared way of speaking. It was like they had a split brain. Out of the corner of his eye, Draco noticed the girl's scowl become more pronounced, whether at her brothers' words or Draco's reaction or lack thereof to them, he wasn't sure.

Draco hadn't even let the twins' words penetrate yet. He'd been too caught up examining the way they shared speech. But now that they finally had, he was the one with narrowed eyes. There were several things wrong with their statement. "Firstly, Harry does not belong to you," he told them. "Second, you should be wondering at how he could be so fortunate as to be mated to me, not that it is any of your business to begin with."

Draco's words did not seem to faze the twins. In fact, their eyebrows raised and they looked at him more closely.

"I'd say he's more ours"

"than yours, mate."

"We've known him years longer"

"and know things you're not privy to," they said, clearly dismissing Draco's second point.

Though still a wonder, Draco was growing accustomed to the way they spoke. At the very least, it didn't distract him from their words this time. He gave Forge, or was it Gred?, his most lethal glare before turning it on his brother. "And seeing as how I have had a direct connection into Harry's emotions for almost the past two months, I know things _you_," and he stressed it to let them know it was an all-encompassing you, "could not dream of. The other things I don't know _yet_ will come."

The twins shared a look before speaking to each other.

"I suppose he's got"

"a point with that one."

They shrugged. The Weaselette had been quiet up until now, but it seemed in the face of her brothers' acquiescence, she decided to speak up.

"It doesn't matter if he's got a connection to Harry. He's still not good enough for him," she sneered. It was almost an acceptable sneer, but Draco wasn't about to let this blood traitor chit talk down to him.

Draco opened his mouth for an angry retort when he heard his name bellowed from what he assumed was upstairs somewhere. Looks like the Weasel had blown his top. Draco smirked again, but scowled when he realized the redhead had called him by his given name. His name was too good to be coming out of the Weasel's mouth. His name was power, respect, and beauty; all of which the Weasel lacked. Therefore he defiled Draco's name by daring to utter it.

Draco listened, but couldn't hear any further screeches coming from above. He focused back in on his new interrogators. "Though you don't deserve it, I will tell you the truth of what you should expect: Harry is my mate. That means that I will not only do nothing to harm him, but that I will protect him with my life. I even expect to come to love him. And I will not tolerate anyone trying to get in the way of any of those goals, including the lot of you. If you attempt to, I will not hesitate to give you all a quick lesson in how to behave."

Just then, Draco heard another roar from the redhead upstairs. This time he called out, "what?!" as if in angry exclamation to Draco's proclamation. Draco almost smiled. He so wished he could be up there with Harry just now. What he wouldn't give to be a witness to that conversation. Taunting and infuriating the Weasel was a pastime he didn't think he'd ever get tired of.

He focused back in when his wings hardened further. The twins were giving him slightly curious looks, as if thinking over his words while being unaffected by his completely unveiled threat, whereas the girl was looking at him as if contemplating murder. Draco supposed his words had only made her more hostile. And this is what he gets for trying to reassure the chit. He rolled his eyes at her, but went back to inspecting the ceiling as if he could see through it and watch the interactions going on between his mate and his friends. Draco figured if the girl tried anything, his wings would protect him.

The twins began speaking to him again, forcing Draco to once again tear his eyes away from where they wanted to be. Even if these people were beneath him, his manners had been ingrained in him from birth; he had to look at people when they spoke to him.

"And what do you plan to do"

"when you return to school?"

"People are not going to take this"

"well at all; especially"

"your fellow snakes. You saw"

"how Snape reacted. Even Dumbledore"

"won't be enough to curb your little"

"Death Eater friends."

Draco couldn't help but sneer at them. To insinuate that he didn't know all of this. And even more so, that he wouldn't be able to handle the issues when they arose. It was insulting. "I assure you, I am aware of what the response will be when we return to school. I am more than prepared to handle the reactions of my Housemates and those of any other student. And Harry has been dealing with rumors and attention all these years. I assume he's well equipped to deal with a little more." He let the Death Eater friends quip slide. He had been distancing himself from people he knew to have ambitions to become Death Eaters or lacked backbone enough to not try to fight the eventuality since last year, but the Weasleys didn't need to know that. Let them retain some fear of him and the things he could influence.

Just then Draco heard footsteps coming down the stairs and he turned in time to see Weasley filling the doorway. He moved in to be followed by Granger with Harry trailing along behind them. His mate didn't look too put out and it was Weasley that was sporting a less than flattering scowl, so Draco assumed the talk had ended more in his favor.

"Malfoy, we need to talk to you," the youngest Weasley male said gruffly.

Draco raised his eyebrows and glanced at Harry, who rolled his eyes and shrugged. Alright then. Draco had been anticipating this conversation anyway. He needed to get some things across to Weasley and Granger and now was as good a time as any. He got to his feet to follow the trio back out. The youngest Weasley opened her mouth as if to oppose being left out of the forthcoming meeting, but the Weasel cut her off.

"Later, Ginny," he said. Ginny? Not Winny? Draco supposed the name Winifred was out, then. It was back to commonality for her in all things, then, unless her name was Ginerva. But that name was too much like Minerva, which Draco was predisposed to dislike because it was the Gryffindor's Head of House's name. Hating all things Gryffindor was firmly established in Draco's makeup, though Harry now fell out of that circle for obvious reasons.

The foursome made their way to what Draco took to be the father Weasley's study. Draco had heard from his father that Weasley Sr. was obsessed with all things muggle and this place was littered with contraptions that were decidedly non-magical. Before Draco could make his way over to the shelf to poke and prod at one such device to discover what all the fuss was about, he was distracted by the sound of the door being firmly shut.

He turned around to see Weasley with his hand flattened on the door and a scowl marring his facing. Draco smiled; looked like he'd be able to witness Weasley blowing his top after all. He took the seat behind the desk to prepare for the approaching conversation. Weasley's eyes flashed. It appeared he recognized Draco taking the position of power in the room. Draco smiled wider. But much to Draco's disappointment, it was Granger who spoke first.

"Malfoy," she said, "Harry tells us that you want him to…move in with you?" Her tone turned the end of the statement into a question, as if asking him to verify the claim.

Though Draco's natural inclination was to sneer at her or insult her muggle heritage, he knew that doing either would not help his case or win Harry over to him. So he simply nodded instead.

"And why the bloody hell would you want that?" Weasley spoke up.

Draco was less inclined to try to be polite to him. After all, he was being rude and Harry hadn't intervened yet. He assumed he'd be allowed the same privilege, at least to an extent. "In case you haven't noticed, Weasel, Harry and I are Veela _mates_. I know your comprehension level is low, but do try to understand what that means." Draco heard Harry sigh and felt his slight annoyance at Draco insulting his friend, but it wasn't enough for him to say anything about it yet. Draco continued.

"Being mates will make us spend an ample amount of time together. If we are forced to do so anyway, we may as well learn to get along. This will be easier to do while away from school where we will undoubtedly have not only opposition from all sides but also outside influences encouraging us to fight against the mating, which will put a strain on our bond and likely our health if we succumb to such encouragement. Further, there will likely be people attempting to sabotage us and we need to learn to work together so we can fight off any attempts on our lives, or yours, for that matter. Everyone knows how you Gryffindorks are- hurt one and you've damaged the whole. The quickest way for us to build up the trust to accomplish all of this would be to be constantly in the company of each other for as long as we can, with the easiest way to do this being to live together. And if all of that wasn't enough, it will also help avoid the pain that will come to us were we to separate for any extended period of time. Do you understand now?" Draco finished.

The Weasel just stared and blinked at him. Draco rolled his eyes. He clearly went too fast and used too many big words for the simpleton. Granger just looked thoughtful, though. Draco knew, though he was loathe to admit it, that she, at least, would recognize the truth in his words and see the logic behind the decision. She didn't look opposed to the move at all. A look at Harry showed the raven was surprised, though.

* * *

Harry knew Draco had wanted them to live together to let them grow accustomed to each other, but he'd just listed some factors Harry hadn't even considered yet. Returning to school was going to be hell. He knew his whole House was going to be shocked then go ballistic when they found out he was a Veela and mated to Draco Malfoy. He even assumed Draco was right and most, if not all, of them would try to figure out a way to break their bond and encourage Harry to fight it. Something in Harry went on the defense at that thought alone. No. Nothing was allowed to touch his bond with Draco.

Draco seemed to feel Harry's emotions coil as if for attack and raised an eyebrow at him. Harry barely spared the blond a glance. He was still thinking over the boy's words. Would people actually try to sabotage them? Would they hurt Harry's friends and Housemates just to get to him? Harry's eyes narrowed as his anger built. Knowing the Slytherins and the future Death Eaters specifically, he knew they would.

"Umm, Harry?" came Hermione's timid voice.

Harry was pulled from his thoughts and looked up to see the girl stepping away from him. He tried to figure out why and noticed that she was trying to avoid his wings, which had gone hard and sharp with his thoughts. Harry glanced over at Draco to see the dragon looking steadily back at him. Harry knew Draco must feel his unstable emotions, but he'd made no move to calm Harry. He must realize where Harry's thoughts were going. But perhaps he wanted Harry to get mad at the probabilities that awaited them. Merlin knew it was likely to make Harry fight to avoid those outcomes, and in this case it was by doing exactly what Draco wanted to begin with. Harry's anger only worked out to Draco's benefit. When Harry's eyes narrowed at the high likelihood of that assumption, Draco just smiled at him.

"So you realize the dangers of not following through with this plan. Excellent! So no more arguments?" Draco asked as he looked at the trio.

Harry could tell that Ron was struggling to think of something else to say. It looked like Draco's reasoning was even too sound for him, though, when he just settled for glaring at the Veela. Hermione was silent in acceptance, but had a look of calm anticipation on her face, as if expecting Draco to say more. Harry was surprised when he did.

"Moving on," the blond began. "Granger, Weasley, as I stated before, I expect opposition from all sides when we return to school. I am also expecting you two not to add to it," he added with a special glare for Ron. "This will be hard enough for Harry without his _friends_ being another source of torment. I am sure I will see you two assisting him when I cannot. But if the struggle proves too much and you cannot stand with him, I will not fail to remove you from his side. I will not allow anyone, including you, to hurt him more than necessary."

Harry was slightly shocked by this speech, but he smiled at it nonetheless. Draco was looking out for him on all levels, it seemed. Though he supposed he should feel annoyed that he was threatening Harry's friends.

Ron seemed to be sputtering, his apparent outrage at Draco's nerve too much to form comprehensible words as yet. Harry knew half that speech was aimed directly at Ron, and saw the need for it. Harry couldn't help but remember the struggle he went through fighting the first task in the TwiWizard Tournament. Ron's anger at and dismissal of him had hurt Harry and took away a large part of his concentration during that time he needed to be planning and preparing, not to mention fractured their trio. Hermione had been great, but she wasn't his best friend the way Ron was, and she shouldn't have been forced to try to choose between them anyway. Ron's pettiness had been hard on her, too.

Hermione simply nodded her head in acceptance of Draco's terms. She likely knew there was no malicious intent behind the words, just guaranteeing protection of his mate. But she looked like she wasn't going to take terms without demanding some in return. Harry should have known she had something to add.

"Alright, Malfoy. Your terms are acceptable, but know that we have some, as well. You are not to hoard Harry, for one. You cannot lock him away and refuse to let him see his friends. We demand to be allowed to visit him. And we will be checking on you two. Mates or not, you recognize that you and Harry do not have the best of histories, and therefore do not know how to get along yet. We will be making sure you are not hurting him too much, either. And lastly, you will assent to allowing me access to your research resources. Harry and Ron would like me to cross reference our Veela knowledge to verify a few things. That's about all I can add that your Veela instincts don't already handle," the girl said.

Harry saw Draco struggle to control his anger and felt his annoyance at Hermione giving him stipulations, but knew he would acquiesce. He currently needed Harry's friends, or Hermione at least, on his side. Obeying some simply and reasonable rules wouldn't be enough to get in the way of that goal, though Harry knew he didn't like it.

Harry vaguely wondered if he should be taking part in this conversation. They were discussing him, after all, and speaking as if he weren't there. But he knew coming in he'd likely just be a referee in this conversation. He was agreeable to all the terms set forth by both Draco and Hermione, though, so currently had nothing to add.

Ron finally found his voice here. It was his comment that forced Harry to join the discussion. "And I want you to submit to another investigation by me and Hermione under Veritaserum," the redhead snapped.

"No," Harry said with finality. "He has already been subjected to that by Snape and Dumbledore. After such a thorough intrusion, you can have nothing further to question him on. Further, you know you would just use the opportunity to get into his personal life, which is not the point of this," Harry told Ron.

"But Harry-," Ron turned to complain to him, but Harry cut him off.

"No, Ron. I said no." He punctuated this statement with a deadly glare at his best friend. He knew Ron and knew he'd take the chance to strip Draco bare. That wasn't his place. And like Draco, Harry would allow no unnecessary harm to come to his mate.

Harry turned to look at Draco to find the blond beaming at him. Harry blinked, his anger at Ron slipping away in the face of such a smile. Harry had never seen Draco smile like that. It was open and appreciative and warm and aimed solely at him. Now Harry knew he was often oblivious to the attention people around him directed his way. It came from years of ignoring people that were only interested in his name or fame or the rumors sustained in the media. But Harry was fully aware that this smile was only for him, and had nothing to do with who he was or what he did when he was a baby or what he continued to do once he entered Hogwarts. That smile was for what he was now and how he protected what was his. He returned Draco's smile and felt the wings at his back flutter a bit with the warm contentment he was feeling.

Harry forgot time and place while being wrapped up in that smile. It clearly had the power to part oceans and move mountains and direct the heavens to Draco's will. Harry was no match for any of that, so he was not surprised to soon find himself in Draco's arms. As always happened when they were like this, Harry felt his wings curling around him to meet with Draco's that were behaving the same way. Harry moved in to kiss his mate and moaned quietly when lips touched. It started out slow, but morphed into a heated kiss, all fire and passion and possession. Harry was too deep in to notice anything else, and so only heard Ron's gagging when Draco pulled away slightly. As Ron made his way to the door, dragging a clearly reluctant Hermione behind him, Draco muttered "Good riddance" before moving back in to conquer Harry's mouth again.

They didn't resurface for a long time. Harry thought eons must have passed with how much those kisses took out of him. Softly panting breaths were the only sound that punctured the quiet room until Draco asked, "So does that mean you'll move in with me?" to which Harry barked a laugh before hugging the blond tighter and kissing him again for good measure. They didn't leave that room for quite awhile.

That night was hectic. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley were less than pleased with Harry's decision, though they couldn't hold him there as he was a legal adult now. But they let him know they would be informing Dumbledore and the rest of the Order of his move and made Draco leave his address with them. Harry wondered if the boy had given his real address. It would be like Draco to give a false destination or lead them to some common landmark. But after dinner, Harry hurriedly packed his bags. Since he'd only been here a few days, there wasn't much to this. And after drawn out goodbyes to all the Weasleys and Hermione and final warnings on the part of Hermione and Ron, Harry held on to Draco for a Side-Along Apparition. He experienced a new kind of freedom at this. For the next month, he was headed into the unrestricted unknown.

* * *

**A/N**: Thanks again to all readers and don't forget to review! :D! And in case I haven't mentioned this before, don't be afraid to correct me if you see any spelling/grammar errors. I came across some in my other story earlier and cringed. Maybe I should consider a beta. :o And since it's come to my attention, I should probably develop my Ron more. He seems almost slow here. That's not good. :/ Well correct that eventually.


	8. Getting Comfortable

**A/N: **Anybody else notice the last few chapters all happened on the same day, and the last three the same night? Harry has had the longest birthday ever. Also, my understanding of condos is minimal. I don't know if condos can be individual dwellings, which is what Draco has. Draco's dwelling is sounding like more of a house to me. I'll probably change the description from here on out and eventually replace it for earlier mentions. This is the beginning of the boys' month together.

* * *

Of Dragons and Ravens

Chapter 7: Getting Comfortable

When they arrived at his house, Draco stopped Harry outside the gates.

"I have to key you into the wards," he told the boy. "Wait here for a moment."

Following his own direction, Draco went into his home office and made it where Harry could enter the house. Doing this reminded him of the people they had just left. The Weasley parents had annoyed him with their obvious disapproval. But they couldn't stop Harry from leaving. Draco certainly wouldn't have let them anyway since his mate had decided he wanted to go.

And they had only earned Draco's ire more when they informed Harry that they would be telling Dumbledore of his departure. Like the old fool needed to track his mate's every move. Draco was just short of seething when they had the further gall to demand he tell them his new address. As if he would relinquish such information to them. He briefly considered giving them the address to a local bookshop he had been frequenting since he'd moved here, but eventually thought better of it. He knew, incompetent as Dumbledore was in many areas, he could also make Draco's life and pursuit of Harry's heart a lot harder. Therefore, he grudgingly gave the redheads his home address.

But unlike with Harry, he had no plans of keying any of them into his wards. Maybe Granger and Weasel if or when they eventually came banging at his door for their visits to Harry, but no more. The rest could meet with him outside for all Draco cared.

Draco was walking back outside to retrieve Harry when he discovered that the boy was already walking his lawns, looking at what he could in the dark. Draco stopped his advance to watch Harry admiring his gardens. They were his mother's doing, the few times she had come to visit him here. She felt his dwelling far too plain and needed a bit of life. This was why Draco's lawn now sported a variety of flowers, the most notable of them the narcissus. Not to mention the sporadic trinkets and furniture items she placed throughout the house itself. Draco's favorite of which was the outdoor swing on his back porch. It reminded him of the one at the Manor where he had done a great deal of his thinking and reading. He employed this one for the same activities, but also used it for his late-night stargazing.

It was during these musings that Harry finally looked at him. Draco offered him a small smile which the raven returned. Harry came to him and Draco took his hand. When Harry laced their fingers again he smiled.

"Welcome to my home," the blond said in his most congenial voice. "Allow me to give you a quick tour, and then we can get to bed." Draco had wanted to say _"our home"_ but didn't want to sound too presumptuous too soon. But he hoped it would feel like home to Harry before too long. They were only here for a month before they returned to Hogwarts, after all.

Draco took Harry through the house, briefly showing him around, though there wasn't too much to see anyway. It was a small dwelling as he really hadn't needed much space for himself for two months. But if Harry chose to live with him even after Hogwarts, he could buy the place or they could find somewhere bigger. And really, Harry couldn't not live with him. Their bond would almost demand it at that point.

Draco started to feel Harry's lethargy toward the end of his tour, so he wrapped it up sooner than he would have otherwise. He couldn't blame the boy for his tiredness; it had been an exceptionally long day, full of emotional upheavals, especially on Harry's part. Frankly, he was rather tired himself and wouldn't mind calling it a night.

Draco steered Harry toward the room his mother used to freshen up when she visited. The little house only had two bedrooms, so she used this one whenever such a room was necessary. She never stayed the night, though. It wouldn't do to have Lucius knowing she was with him, after all. As a result, there wasn't too much of her influence to be found.

After showing Harry where he could find fresh toiletries and such and pointing out his own bedchamber should Harry need him at any time, Draco bid him goodnight and walked to his own room. He could privately admit that he didn't actually want to have Harry sleeping in a different room. After spending almost the whole day by the boy's side, he was already feeling the absence. Draco blamed the feelings on their bond being new and needing time to stabilize. After all, they couldn't be attached at the hip 24/7.

After finishing his nightly ablutions and settling himself in bed, Draco lay thinking for awhile before he drifted off to sleep. His thoughts circled a central question- just what would this month hold?

* * *

Harry woke slowly. He had slept wondrously, not only because he had been dead tired after such an eventful day, but also because this bedding was incomparable. He'd slept in nothing of the like at the Dursleys', the Weasleys', the Leaky Cauldron, or Hogwarts. The bed was big enough for at least three of him, and the bed clothes were so full and splendidly soft and comfortable. He'd fallen asleep almost as soon as he had tucked himself beneath the covers and let his head hit the pillow.

Even thus, he'd felt a bit of a lack when Draco had left him. Harry wondered why. It wasn't like he wasn't in a room a few steps down the hallway. He wondered if the feeling had been present during his private talk with Ron and Hermione earlier. He didn't think so, but he was feeling too much earlier to tell. Either way, the feeling of something missing persisted and Harry was aware of it on a level even in his sleep. Part of him was aware when the feeling abated and eventually dissipated completely, as well. It was at this point that he fell into peaceful dreams.

Now waking, Harry wondered at the feeling. He gave some thought to its presence, but more at its vanishing. Perhaps it had only needed a bit of time to adjust to the blond's leaving? Harry accepted this answer. It made sense.

Harry lazily blinked his eyes open and caught an eyeful of blond-haired, pale-skinned Veela. He blinked again for good measure, just to make sure he wasn't imagining anything. No, that really was Draco lying next to him, wings out and covering them both, mixing with Harry's own, and sleeping peacefully if looks were anything to go by. Harry couldn't begin to speculate as to the other Veela's presence in his bed, but it certainly explained why the feeling of him missing was no longer there. Not that it was a wholly unwelcome sight, though. Draco was quite lovely while he slept.

As Harry watched him, Draco's eyes likewise blinked open. When they focused on Harry, a look of confusion crossed Draco's face briefly, before it turned sheepish. Harry blinked at him again. He hadn't even known Draco could do sheepish.

"Er…," he began in an attempt to break the silence. He certainly didn't know what to say in this situation, though.

"Forgive me," Draco said in response. "I felt the lack of your presence when we parted last night. The bond has been urging me to find my mate since it formed, and it appears it did not want us to separate now that I have. Excuse me," he finished, rising.

"I felt it, too," Harry admitted, causing Draco to stop in the process of once again detangling their wings (just how often would they do that?) to look at him.

"Hmm," Draco hummed. "I believe it might be a result of our bond trying to stabilize itself. The feeling of missing the other might have been our bond warning us that it was not finished with the process. I am not sure, however."

Harry didn't bother answering this time, accepting this explanation with a shrug, but leaned up to assist Draco in separating their feathery appendages. Shockwaves of pleasure shot through him when Draco's hand accidentally touched his wing in the blond's endeavor to extract his own from the mix, and Harry had to stop helping and close his eyes to take in the feelings. It was always such a joy having his mate touch his wings. Though its ability to paralyze his every thought was distracting.

When the feelings settled enough for Harry to focus again, he opened his eyes to see that Draco had finished disconnecting them and was looking at him with a small smirk. It wasn't the usual Malfoy smirk Harry was used to seeing on his face, full of malicious intent and arrogance, but it still possessed that air of self satisfaction all the same.

Harry just rolled his eyes at him. It wasn't as if Harry's touch didn't have just as much of an effect on Draco's wings. And if Harry wasn't in such a good mood and was instead inclined toward a bit of revenge, he'd show him just how much so. But he wasn't.

Instead, deciding to be generous with himself, he leaned forward and kissed the blond. (But if his morning breath bothered the dragon, he'd get his bit of revenge that way.) It wasn't much of a kiss- just a quick pressing of lips with no real heat behind it. And Harry had every intention of leaving it thus; just waking up didn't seem the time to really get intimate.

Draco didn't appear to agree, however. When Harry began pulling back, Draco's hand was quick to tangle in Harry's hair to prevent his escape. Seeing as Harry had relinquished control, Draco apparently took the kiss into his own hands.

Harry was slightly surprised, but allowed it. It wasn't like the kiss was demanding on his part, after all, and he had enjoyed it the few times Draco had taken charge thus far.

This time was no different. Still lacking heat, Harry felt Draco brush his lips against his in a lazy caress. It was one of those skipped heartbeat kind of kisses Harry had heard Lavender and Parvati twittering about all these years. It had to be because that's what it did to his.

A flick of Draco's tongue had Harry opening his mouth in a quiet moan. Draco clearly took this as an invitation because said tongue was quick to invade after Draco swallowed that moan. Harry felt the pressure on his lips increase as Draco allowed his tongue to caress the contours of Harry's mouth. Harry decided to get involved in what would become a tangle of tongues insistent enough to make them both shortly breathless.

* * *

Draco fought to catch his breath, his forehead pressed against Harry's. He wondered if Harry's skill with kissing was the result of experience or natural talent. He hoped it was the latter. He knew of Harry's pursuit of the Chang girl, but he'd heard of no others since. And he doubted the raven had gone very far with her. He still had too much innocence to his air. But that was good. Anything more and Draco would have had to look for who to kill. He had yet to be mad enough for his talons to show themselves, but assumed he'd have been sharpening them on some hapless chit if she'd corrupted his Harry.

No, dwelling on his own less than innocent experiences with a girl or two didn't occur to him. After all, what Harry didn't know wouldn't hurt him. Besides, he hadn't gone far enough with any of them to warrant too much of Harry's jealousy. Better save him from any of it and reveal nothing.

Finally with his breathing back to normal, Draco glanced up at Harry. The raven was already looking back at him steadily, but with a clearly dampened fire in his eyes. Maybe not as innocent as Draco thought. He was evidently no stranger to desire. That thought had Draco cocking an eyebrow as his thoughts returned to determining just who he needed to sharpen his claws on.

Letting his thoughts swirl, Draco gave in to the temptation to run his hand through Harry's hair, where it was still tangled. Harry didn't seem to mind as his eyes closed again at the touch. Draco understood; he'd always loved it when his mother had run her fingers through his hair. Noted, she was the only one who would dare.

The curls were soft and wild and so very far from ordered. Sticking up in a manner that declared their presence to the world. This was one of Harry's defining features, this hair that refused to be tamed. Draco knew it spoke much about the character of the boy who bore it.

Letting his hand dip lower, he brushed his fingers along the nape of Harry's neck. He felt an extrusion there and wondered at it. He could have sworn his fingers tingled where he touched it. It didn't particularly feel like the residue of an injury, and Harry didn't seem the type for those drawings some muggles got carved and colored into their skin (the barbarians).

It took him a solid half minute to realize it must be the markings of their binding. In his research on Veela, he'd read about the designs that got burned into the mates of Veela when the Veela came into their inheritance. He hadn't noticed it before and wondered if Harry even knew it was there.

His free hand reached back to his own neck. Yes, he had one, too. Since he was thinking of it, he vaguely recalled a slight burn on his neck the night he found Harry. He wondered what they looked like.

He continued his stroking of Harry's hair for a moment and pressed another brief kiss to his mate's lips before retreating slightly to speak.

"Harry," he said softly. "Would you mind turning around for me?" His words a whisper against Harry's face.

When Harry didn't respond after a few seconds, Draco withdrew, removing hand and lips from Harry's person. But their wings were intertwined again. Merlin, with how attracted the things were to each other, they might as well glue the bloody things together.

Harry's eyes opened slowly. Draco could see exactly when Harry came back to himself and allowed Draco's words to penetrate. There was a spark of recognition in his eyes before he tried to move. Their wings took another few moments to unravel yet again, but the raven turned eventually.

The design of their markings (because Draco knew that Veela mates shared the same one) seemed to be a line that extended from within the plush of Harry's wings. The line trailed up his mate's back where it started to spiral. Deep within the spiral was a design Draco did not recognize. There was a heart with a crown atop it, which was held by two hands. Why would anyone put a crown on a heart and hold it?

Either way, Draco traced the design with his fingers. He felt Harry give a small shiver under his ministrations. Draco leaned forward and pressed a small kiss to the design. Whatever it meant, it was a symbol of their bond. It meant something important to him. Hopefully to them.

"Have you seen this, Harry?" he asked the boy under his hand. "This is our lié, a symbol of our bond. It marks us as being the mate of a Veela. The word literally translates to 'bound' and its synonyms from French. Our Veela ancestors originated in what is now France, you see. Therefore the French Veela claim the right to come up with our terminology. France is also the seat of the Veela Council. I wonder if they know about us by now," Draco mused.

Harry turned his head under Draco's hand. "You said 'marked us?'" the boy asked.

"Yes," Draco responded. "I can feel a matching lié on my neck as well. After all, am I not the mate of a Veela, too?" Draco smiled cheekily at his mate.

Draco watched as Harry just blinked at him and felt Harry's surprise coming through their bond. Draco wasn't sure what Harry was surprised at, though. The fact that he had a lié too? Or the fact that he could be cheeky? The latter option had Draco laughing. There were many things Harry had yet to discover about him, despite the time they'd spent reciprocating feelings. But he would learn. Oh yes, he would learn.

* * *

Harry sat tracing Draco's lié much as the blond dragon had done to him. Draco had been right; they were the exact same designs.

"I don't know what the design means," the boy in front of him was saying. "I believe it's something we'll have to discover over time."

"I know what the design in the spiral means," Harry told him. "Well, in theory. It might be different in this combination."

"Oh?" Draco half turned, assumedly trying to look at Harry.

But Harry turned his head back forward. He was still toying with the tattoo. Or lié.

"Yes. It's an Irish symbol I learned from Seamus. The design in total in called a Claddagh. The heart symbolizes love. The crown stands for loyalty. And the hands represent friendship," he recited.

His fingers' ambling made their way up into Draco's hair. It had been incredibly pleasurable when Draco had massaged his way through Harry's hair earlier. It was a fairly relaxing experience, as well. Harry tried to give some of those feelings back to his mate.

Harry could understand the pleasure of running his hands through Draco's hair, too. The fine strands fell easily through Harry's fingers. The blond had stopped adding that greasy gel to it a few years back now. Even thus, it clearly wasn't difficult to get it in the style the dragon now preferred. A few light wisps to fall across his face, a tease to his cheeks, the rest framing his aristocratic features.

Much unlike his own hair, the raven grumbled to himself. His natural locks were a tangled, curly mess. Unmanageable by all accounts. And it stuck up in random places. Despite all of Harry's constant attempts, it vehemently refused to be tamed.

Harry assumed he was doing a good job of pleasing his mate when Draco's wings gave a subtle flutter at his hand movements. Harry smiled, though Draco couldn't see it. Copying his mate's earlier move, Harry leaned in to kiss Draco's lié.

It was a surprise to both when Harry's stomach rumbled.

* * *

Draco laughed. They'd clearly gotten too caught up in each other this morning. He turned around to face Harry.

"Not that this hasn't been a pleasant morning in bed, but how about some breakfast, hmm?"

Harry blushed slightly, obviously embarrassed it had been his stomach that announced their need to feed. Draco just laughed again before he lunged himself off the bed and dragged Harry off after him. When they moved toward the door, Harry spoke up.

"What about the bed?" he asked.

Draco shot a glance back to the bed's disheveled state.

"Leave it," he replied. "We'll get it later. Who knows, we might even end up back in it," he finished with a mischievous wink at his mate.

Instead of being embarrassed by such a line as Draco expected, Harry barked a laugh this time.

"With how this morning was going, I suspect we will," the raven finished with an impudent smile.

It was Draco's turn to blink. Now he knew he'd been underestimating Harry. He'd have to be sure to ask the raven just how he came to be in possession of such a wit. But later.

He led them to the kitchen to rummage through the food stores. He had no house elves here and thus had come to acquaint himself to kitchenly duties. After almost a month, he had finally stopped burning his food and also learned to wait until things cooked enough so they were no longer frozen or underdone. He had preservation charms on some of his food, but it stopped tasting fresh after awhile. He had a storage unit with a permanent cooling charm on it to keep other things fresh until he needed them, though they went bad faster than the items that got frozen in the ice chamber. The items that needed neither cooling nor freezing were stored in the cupboards along the walls. The task had been daunting, but Draco had taught himself to live alone. It had to be this way when one lived with no house elves.

* * *

Harry looked around what would be virtually his kitchen for the next month. He'd been in a wizard kitchen before. There was the one at the Weasleys' and the one at Grimmauld Place, but he hadn't really explored those much. They had both been Molly's territory when he was at either place, and she had never put him to work in them. The same held true for Hogwarts' kitchen, but the house elves ran that domain. Now he had a chance to wander this one.

He knew wizards didn't use electricity, so he wondered what they used as substitutes for things like refrigerators and microwaves. Draco currently seemed to be looking through what Harry took to be the wizard equivalent to a fridge. Slightly cold air emanated from it in any case. He saw another tall box that Harry guessed could have been a wizard's freezer. A quick check showed that it did indeed have ice lining it and many frozen items within. Harry wondered what manners of spells were on them to keep them both cold. He'd have to ask sometime.

Draco spoke to Harry from within the makeshift fridge.

"What would you like for breakfast, Harry? We've got eggs, jam for toast, milk for cereal, bacon, sausage, rolls and biscuits, fruits, and pastry items. We also have the makings of porridge, pancakes or waffles, and hash browns if you'd prefer any of those," Draco finished, pulling his head from the thing to look at Harry questioningly.

Harry stared at him a moment before saying, "That's quite a bit of food you've got in there."

"Well I do like the choice of variety when I care for it," Draco answered reasonably. "Now, what shall you have?"

"Er, I guess I'll just take scrambled eggs and some toast and juice," he decided.

"Alright then," Draco said before turning back to the fridge substitute.

It was then that Harry understood no one else was coming to make the food. "Wait, you've cooking it?" he asked incredulously.

Draco took a slow look over his shoulder to arch his eyebrow at Harry. "Do you have a problem with that?"

"Ah, well, no, it's just that…can you cook?" he had to ask. With Draco's upbringing, Harry would be surprised if he even knew how to use a toaster. Or, well, whatever counted as a toaster in the wizard world.

"Well I've been doing so the last month and a half, now haven't I?" he drawled.

Harry didn't bother answering the rhetorical question. He focused of the words instead. Even if Malfoy was terrible two months ago, he'd be better now, right? It didn't seem like he'd burnt anything down thus far, anyway. The house was still in one piece. Then again, Harry hadn't seen it when Draco bought it. This could be it remodeled after the blond destroyed it. Harry started looking around for any tell-tale signs of fire damage.

"Do you want your eggs or not, Potter?" Draco shot at him with an annoyed glare.

Harry looked back at him with an almost apologetic smile. "How about if I cook them?" he asked. Even if he'd never cooked using wizard kitchen supplies, he had to do better than Malfoy, right?

"Have _you _ever cooked before, Potter?" he drawled.

"I've been cooking half of my life, Malfoy. Here, hand that stuff over," he said, moving to take the food items that Draco had in hand.

"No," the blond shot back with a nastier glare than before. "You are going to sit your arse in that chair while I cook you your bloody eggs and toast and then you are going to eat it. All. If I have to shove it down your throat myself. And you are going to like it. Got that?"

Harry stepped back in the face of Draco's aggression. That annoyance was coming full force through their bond as well. Harry didn't understand. That level of anger seemed unwarranted giving his very reasonable suggestion of cooking in place of the blond. But perhaps Draco had something he wanted to prove. In that case, fine, Harry would sit back and watch; but at the first sign of an out of control fire he was helping no matter what the blond said.

As Harry watched, he had to admit he was impressed. Draco moved with relative ease around his kitchen. It wasn't with the liquidity that someone long used to being in a kitchen moved, but it was clear he was comfortable enough doing what he was doing. And when he presented Harry with his meal, not a thing was burnt. Draco himself had chosen a couple of muffins with fruit, bacon, and juice to enjoy.

"I'm impressed, Draco," Harry admitted to him. "I didn't quite believe you could do it."

Draco merely lifted an eyebrow at Harry in a look that clearly said, "I told you so," before biting into one of his muffins. "Now eat," his dragon told him.

Harry gave him a small smile before obeying. And the eggs weren't bad. He had made better himself and tasted better from others, but these were more than edible. When Draco put some of his own pieces of bacon onto Harry's plate, Harry acknowledged the gift with a twitch of his lips before trying it. The bacon was indeed good. So Draco could cook after all. At least the basics.

* * *

When their meal was done, Draco took Harry to walk the lawns again. He wanted his mate to see what the house had to offer in the daylight and when they weren't both too tired to take anything much in. Harry enjoyed the flowers; it seemed he'd done some gardening in his years.

In the back, Draco showed Harry the outdoor swing and promised they could try it out in a bit. First, he wanted Harry to see the field he used to help him learn to fly.

"Do you feel it, Harry?" he asked him when they got to the top of a hill.

The wind was blowing pleasantly at the moment. Draco's wings fluttered in the breeze; they liked the feeling of it between the feathers. Draco glanced at Harry to gauge his reaction.

The raven had his eyes closed, but he looked peaceful. The wind blew his already fly away hair even more around his face and his wings fluttered more than Draco's. Draco realized this was the first time Harry's wings had really sampled the air. They were likely feeling antsy. Impatient to taste the air in flight. It's what wings were made for, after all. And Draco was looking forward to sharing that with Harry.

Draco watched Harry for a few more minutes. He liked seeing his mate open like this, enjoying the benefits of being a Veela and feeling a sense of the freedom their wings could give them. He had yet to see the extra strength being a Veela gave them or the full power of their wings. Draco knew Harry would enjoy those, especially the last. It's time he learned. Draco drew Harry out of his blissful stance by speaking again.

"I want to teach you how to control your wings, Harry. I admit I've only got decent control over mine thus far, but trying to get even that was difficult when learning alone," he began. At Harry's surprised look, he continued with, "The Veela gene is not strong enough in my mother for her to have manifested wings. Therefore she could not teach me how to control mine. It was very difficult for awhile with me experimenting to see what did and did not work. But I will use that experience to help you gain some control, as well. We will start by teaching you how to actively move your wings, one at a time and together. I will also teach you how to retract them so they will not always be out."

When Harry once again looked at him surprised, he almost rolled his eyes. "You didn't think they always stayed out, did you? No, they can retract into nubs that we have in our backs. You haven't seen mine closed yet because of where we were, firstly. They sensed a threat at the Weasley household and so stayed out as a guard. I haven't tried to close them since we've returned. They seem to like being out in your presence.

"Anyway, after you master moving and retracting them, I will attempt to help you learn to fly. That will be a dual lesson as I haven't quite mastered that one myself." This last was said in an undertone with an annoyed look at his own wings. Temperamental things. Pushing that aside, Draco flashed Harry a bright smile. "Ready to begin?"

Harry's answering smile was all the confirmation he needed.

* * *

**A/N: **In theory, I'd like to think I make nice, manly male characters. But I do believe I fail. I'm too girly and enjoy the fluff. xD! Anyway, since I was on a roll writing yesterday, you get two chapters in one go. :] Enjoy.


	9. Learning to Adjust

**A/N: **Here's the second chapter I spit out yesterday. This chronicles their month together in relatively short snippets. I could have gone into detail with the next 31 days, but that would have taken forever. I assumed we'd all like to get to when they returned to school. But some fun stuff happens this month and needed to be shared. Go see. ;) Also noted, each break indicates a separate day, so sometimes snippets have both boys' POVs. Hope that doesn't get too confusing.

* * *

Of Dragons and Ravens 

Chapter 8: Learning to Adjust

That month went by rather quickly. The days and nights melded into each other in such a way that the boys were almost unaware of their passing.

* * *

That first week seemed the longest. Harry was having difficulties mastering the control over his wings.

"Just move one, Harry, one." Draco told him again, that first day.

"I'm trying," Harry shot back at him, annoyed.

Like he hadn't been working on this for a solid hour now. Now that he actively tried to control the things, instead of just letting them move when they felt like, they were fighting against him. Either they both moved, or neither did.

"Stop concentrating. Look at me," his mate directed. After a moment Harry obeyed. "You're thinking too hard, Harry. Just feel it. Your wings are a natural extension of you. You can move them just as easily as your arm or leg…. Yes. Let's try that. Come to me, Harry. Slowly. Walk over to me."

Harry did, moving in steady steps over toward where his mate stood.

"Raise your right arm, Harry," Draco directed.

Harry did this without a thought, still maintaining his pace.

"Now put it down and raise your left," was Draco's next command.

Again, Harry obeyed without difficulty.

"Now raise both arms," Draco said while back-stepping, creating more space between them for Harry to traverse.

Harry brought his right arm up to join his left.

"Now put them down and flap your wings."

Harry, still allowing himself to follow orders mindlessly did so. His wings flapped around him as he walked. But surprised at his actions, he stopped and stared at them in wonder. They continued flapping around him.

"Now make them stop," Draco said from somewhere further off.

And just like before, something unknown clicked into Harry's head at the command and the wings ceased their fluttering. Harry turned to look at his mate.

"I did it," he said.

"Yes, now you must learn to do it without me having to tell you," was Draco's response.

The rest of that day passed in that manner, Harry learning to control his wings' basic movements and Draco instructing and helping him along the way. By its end, Harry had minimal control. His wings still occasionally didn't follow his commanded thoughts, but they were learning.

Harry again allowed Draco to cook for him that night, and the meal was surprisingly good, though basic. He figured the blond had not yet learned to cook all the fancy foods he was undoubtedly used to. But that was fine. Harry didn't need much.

* * *

That next morning found Harry in Draco's bed, despite them again falling asleep separately. They both had to laugh at this. It seemed their bond still did not want them apart for overlong.

That day went much like the last, them eating breakfast before practicing Harry's control of his wings. It went slightly better than yesterday. The wings were responding to his thoughts and wishes more now.

Harry got a letter from Ron and Hermione that day. He had frankly been surprised they'd waited a whole day to contact him. Well, Ron anyway. It was a request to see him soon and with annoyance Draco agreed they could come at week's end, a few days from then. Let them enjoy their time alone in peace until then.

* * *

When that third day had the blond back in Harry's bed, they decided to give up the idea of separate bedrooms. It seemed a moot point in their case. They would likely find each other in one bed come morning for awhile.

Draco enjoyed seeing Harry's progress. It was quicker than his own had been, but then again, he'd had to teach himself. He smiled as he watched Harry flutter his wings with a slight look on concentration on his face.

He laughed softly when Harry huffed out an exasperated breath. Apparently the wings weren't quite cooperating. But he figured they would soon. Harry was too determined for anything less.

* * *

Narcissa came to visit on their fifth day there. She was more than a little surprised to see Harry and Draco embarrassingly remembered he had failed to tell her he'd found his mate.

Draco could tell she wasn't her most pleased with the match, but knew better than to speak against it. At the very least such an action would have gotten her summarily dismissed from Draco's home.

A Veela mating superseded all other relationships as most important. Draco knew his mother understood this. If she wanted continued interactions with her son, she would have to adjust to his mate.

Draco understood that his mother had no real issues with the boy as an individual. Harry Potter was just a boy with too much on his plate. More to the point, she recognized that alliance with this boy could endanger her own son. Harry Potter had an X on his head where Voldemort was just waiting to cast an AK. She knew that anyone in too close association with him could face the same fate. She saw her son removed from one type of Voldemort's target to another. She was not pleased.

Yes, all of that was understandable and regretful, but Draco didn't care. Harry Potter was his mate. There was no changing that. His mother would either recognize this fact and come to accept it or in essence lose a son.

Draco wasn't ready for that. He had been almost prepared to lose her in the fallout with his father, but would sincerely try to avoid it over a dispute regarding Harry. To this aim, he would even beg her to see reason. He was sure she would over time.

His mother wasn't at her warmest that day, but neither was she stoic. Rather, she was all that was a pureblood wife, ever polite to Harry while withholding final judgement. Draco knew it was the best he could hope for for now.

* * *

The few days following were easier going. They didn't need to practice so hard or long as Harry was quickly learning to control his wings. In the time they found themselves having spared, they relaxed. They talked about random things, some insignificant and others of great interest. They hadn't quite ventured into overly personal secrets yet, but they were getting there.

This was their time of learning. Finding similarities, uncovering unknown differences. Draco learned Harry ate so many sweets because he hadn't had the opportunity to when growing up. He was making up for lost time, as it were. Harry learned Draco liked his tea with only a certain type of biscuit, and drank different flavors of tea depending on the time of day. They discovered they both favored treacle tarts while Draco hated Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans, which Harry loved. It was an enlightening few days for them.

* * *

The day Ron and Hermione arrived, they surprised both Harry and Draco by having the rest of the Weasley family in tow. It seemed the lot of them wanted to check on Harry's state of adjustment in Draco's house.

At first Draco adamantly refused to allow any of them through the wards. He was annoyed with Ron and Hermione for not preventing the rest of the Weasleys from coming as well. He had not agreed to host the entire redhead family. He didn't even budge when Harry had given him a good glare and demanded he let them all through.

He only acquiesced when Harry admitted that Hermione and the Weasleys were wrong and Draco was right and he added in some other complimentary things to assuage the blond's temper. Harry even gave him a kiss or three to put him in a better mood.

Harry still saw Draco's wings harden with whatever threat the dragon felt the Weasleys posed, but the blond was polite to them all the same. He was courteous enough to show them around their humble abode and fixed a light brunch for everyone.

Hermione, Fred, and George seemed well at ease, but the rest of the Weasleys looked to still be on edge. Harry guessed they were just waiting for him to admit he wanted to leave for them to swoop him out of Draco's clutches. They were in for a rude awakening in that matter. Harry was more than content where he was.

All in all the day passed pleasantly enough. He enjoyed the conversations he had with his friends and surrogate family. Everyone, even Draco, had pretty much relaxed by the time their guests were getting ready to leave.

"It's been a lovely visit, dear, and I hope to see you again soon," Mrs. Weasley was saying to Harry when he and Draco walked their guests to the gates. "When were you planning to go shopping for your new books?"

Harry shot a questioning look at Draco. He hadn't even been thinking about that.

"Perhaps next week sometime," Draco answered for him. "I'm hoping to teach Harry to retract his wings by that time."

This comment spurred an interest in Hermione. "You know how to retract yours now, then?" she asked with interest.

Draco turned to her. "I do, though I haven't in awhile now. They seek the company of Harry's."

"You speak as though they have a will of their own," the girl responded. There was no derision in her tone, just open curiosity.

Ron, however, scoffed at the notion. "Wings don't have wills, Hermione. They're just a mound of feathers sticking out of their backs. They obey the wills of the ones they're attached to."

"You'd be surprised," Draco answered both of them, his tone neutral.

They had reached the gates by this time and Draco stood by while Harry warmly bid his friends and family goodbye. Draco's farewell was a lot more reserved, but it was clear he was honestly glad for their departure.

"Well that was fun," Harry was saying to him when they made their way back toward the house.

"The only fun part was their leaving," Draco quipped. "I'm glad to have you back to myself now." He complemented his words by pulling Harry closer to him.

Harry ignored the insult to his friends in favor of the renewed closeness to his mate, Draco's wings losing the last of their rigidity to curl themselves up with Harry's.

* * *

The next week was upon them before they realized it. They had fallen into an easy routine that made days seem to fall away.

Harry had finally mastered controlling his wings and could move them now at will. From here, it should be simple to get them to retract back into their nubs.

Draco tried to demonstrate. He had mastered this weeks ago himself, soon after moving here. Now, however, the attempt gave him trouble. The wings did not seem to want to go back in.

He crinkled his face in concentration and tried again. Still nothing. They would not obey him.

He tried moving them. Left right flap. Right wing flap. Both wings flap. Both wings curl around him. All fine. So why would they not go in?

Draco stopped trying to move them with his will and instead stood trying to concentration on the wings'. They almost seemed to be seeking something, curling forward as they were.

Draco looked up to see Harry watching him curiously, his wings curling forward much like Draco's own. Draco had to roll his eyes. His wings would not retract because they did not want to relinquish the company of Harry's.

"My wings are being difficult," Draco told his mate. "Our wings seem inexorably drawn to each other and will not surrender each other's company. I assume your wings will act similarly even were I to try to teach you to withdraw them."

Harry tilted his head in speculation. "Perhaps they will behave better with distance?" he suggested.

Draco shrugged. It was worth a try anyway. He backed up several feet, well aware of the renewed sense of Harry's absence he began feeling. He was a good 20 meters away before he tried again. Though reluctantly, his wings did fold themselves back into his body this time. Harry had been correct.

Draco heard a small cheer and looked to see Harry celebrating. He was likely proud to be proven right. Draco walked to rejoin him, feeling his wings anticipation of being back in close proximity to Harry. Draco let them out and they re-sprouted with a flourish.

"You were right," he said to Harry when they were in reasonable speaking distance again. "We just needed some distance. Now I will attempt to explain to you how to go about pulling your wings back into yourself."

When Harry seemed to understand what Draco taught him, they once again separated the 20 meters.

Harry tried to concentrate on his wings. Draco had said it was like a flowing. An ease to the wings' glide. Draco compared it to the hand and fingers. How the hand was a wide space, sprouting into thinner fingers at its end, so were their wings sprouting out from their nubs into full but thin feathers. And just as the fingers could curl back into the hand, so could the wings enfold themselves back into the nubs.

It was easier for Harry to think of it that way. He opened and closed his hand a few extra times to lock in the visual. When he imagined his wings following suit and gave the thought action, they indeed folded into his back. Harry was surprised at his quick success. He turned his head but saw nothing over his shoulder save the rolling pasture of the fields.

He felt his wings twitching in their nubs behind him and wondered why until he saw Draco making his way toward him. Their wings really were drawn. Not that he hadn't already known that with the number of times he and Draco had had to extract them from each other.

Harry smiled at Draco, quite pleased with himself and his efforts. Apparently Draco was pleased with him, too, because the blond return his smile before kissing him.

"Very good, Harry. You're learning very quickly," Draco praised him. "We should be able to go to Diagon Alley in a day or so if you'd like. We need just a bit more practice keeping them in."

Draco moved around to inspect Harry's back. He could see the nubs in the holes in Harry's clothes. Draco had modified his entire wardrobe after he lost a perfectly good shirt to his wings first coming out. He had had Harry do the same for his clothes the first day there. The nubs poked through the holes so there would be no problem whether the wings were in or out. Their shirts had simply been spelled on and off until now to avoid ruining any. But now that Harry was learning to withdraw his wings, they could put them on regularly.

The nubs wiggled at Harry's touch, the wings likely anxious to be released again to interact with Draco's. Draco had drawn his own in when he and Harry had been separated and it was easy enough to keep them in now, despite the twitching they were doing on his back.

"We'll keep them in for now to let them get used to the feeling, then bring them back out and practice drawing them in again, but at a closer distance each time. We cannot always separate just to retract our wings."

At Harry's nod of understanding, Draco led them in to lunch. Afterward, they resumed their practice. It took a few hours, but their wings finally obeyed their commands to retract when the boys were close to each other, though they both still felt the tingling in their backs. It was a successful day.

* * *

Two days later they were in Diagon Alley. Despite the fact that their wings were not in sight, there was no shortage of odd looks the boys received, simply for being there together. And it was obvious they were together. One hardly left the other's side, and when he did, he returned shortly thereafter.

Never had the members of the wizarding community seen Draco Malfoy and Harry Potter together without hexes flying from someone's lips. There wasn't even any looks of antagonism on either face. It took all of 2 minutes for tongues to start wagging. Soon it was obvious that the entire area knew they were together.

Harry wondered what would come of it. There were few Hogwarts students there at the moment. He was sure if there were more, at least one of them would have been bold enough to question either Draco or himself. As it was, the few present simply gossiped among themselves much like their parents and the shop owners and patrons were doing.

Neither boy paid the looks or whispers any heed. They were both well used to such activities going on around them, albeit for different reasons. They simply made their way through the shops and bought their books and supplies.

They were making their way to a sweets shop, leaden with books, before they made their way home. They had crossed paths with the Weasleys during their shopping, but since Ginny needed different supplies than Harry and the others, they parted ways with the matron and her daughter. Ron and Hermione had accompanied Harry and Draco around for a bit before the redhead dragged his girlfriend off to his brothers' joke shop after bidding the Veela goodbye.

Alone again, the boys were at ease while they enjoyed their treats. Draco hadn't let Harry indulge in the usual bundle he would have bought, but he had enough all the same. They were headed to the Apparition point when an increase in the flurried gossip alerted them to a change.

Looking around, they came face to face with Lucius Malfoy walking purposefully toward them. Draco let out a hiss at the sight of the man. He moved before Harry in a protective gesture. He wondered if his father had been keeping a lookout here to determine when he would show to collect his books.

"Draco," his father said when he stood before the pair.

"Father," Draco answered in a steely tone.

"And what have we here?" his father responded, glancing at Harry. "Walking around with Harry Potter? Draco, you really have fallen. How can you even defile yourself with his presence so?"

This time Harry hissed. Draco sensed Harry was just short of aiming some hex at Lucius. And Draco knew it wasn't at the insult to himself, but rather at the emotions Harry felt coming from Draco through their bond. His father's presence had unsettled the blond, to put it mildly. But then to insult Draco's mate? He thought the man must have a death wish.

"Father, I _suggest_ you cease speaking. Immediately. I will not be held responsible for anything I do if you fail to heed this warning," Draco said through gritted teeth. He felt his nails growing hard and long. It seemed this was when he'd get to see what his talons looked like if his father continued with his speech.

"Draco Lucius Malfoy. You will not speak to me so. You take the side of this half blood trash over your own flesh and blood?" the elder Malfoy spat.

Draco wasn't sure what happened next. His world went a bit red around him at his father's words. He only became aware of Harry pulling him back after he assumed he had made a vicious swipe with his talons at the man who would _dare_ to insult what was his. Repeatedly at that.

He looked down to his father on the ground. His arm was bleeding profusely and he was cursing fluently while trying to staunch the flow of blood with his wand. Served him right. Draco hoped the arm would have to be amputated.

He turned to Harry to realize the boy's wings were out. A quick check revealed his own were, as well. Both pairs were hard as steel, ready to defend them from any incoming threat.

But there were no more. Everyone around them was too shocked to move, let allow attack them in any way. Pushing through the crowd came Granger, followed by the Weasel.

"Oh Harry, Malfoy, are you alright?" the bushy-haired girl asked, looking between the pair. She shot a venomous look at the elder Malfoy who was finally climbing to his feet, arm healed, much to Draco's regret.

A wave of her wand had Draco's claw and talons cleaned of the blood of his father.

With Granger's actions, the crowd was quickly coming out of its stupor. The talk began immediately, shooting the two Veela and company looks that ranged from suspicious to scared to appreciative. Draco wondered what the end consensus would be.

"Come on Harry," he said, grabbing his mate and collecting their bags that had been unceremoniously dropped to the ground. "We're going home. Now."

Harry made no complaints. Shouting a quick farewell to his friends, he allowed Draco to drag him toward the Apparition point.

Their wings were still out, though, and still threat-ready. Harry figured they'd be so until they actually made it home. Harry wondered about the last confrontation between Draco and his father. He knew Draco hadn't spoken to the man since he'd left home after coming into his inheritance, but he didn't know what all happened to make that so. He wanted to ask but knew that now wouldn't have been the time.

They arrived home soon after. Harry could tell Draco was still in a bad mood, though the threat was averted. Harry dragged his mate up to their bedroom and made him sit on the bed. He knew talking was out, but thought maybe his dragon wouldn't mind being pampered for a bit.

Harry moved behind his mate and started off stroking Draco's wings. They still held a hint of stiffness and Harry wanted it gone. The blond seemed to relax under Harry's ministrations. His wings softened and his shoulders lost their tenseness. Harry pressed a kiss to Draco's lié as reward. When he began massaging Draco's shoulders and neck the boy all but melted beneath his fingers.

This was a good start. Harry decided to dedicate the rest of the afternoon and night to Draco. He cooked for them after Draco told him how to use the stove and oven replacements. They sat outside in the swing and talked for hours on end. They snuggled up and enjoyed nothing but being in each other's company. Harry wanted his mate as calm and relaxed as possible. He knew tomorrow, the Prophet was going to create a shit storm.

* * *

_**Harry Potter Shacking Up with Resident Bad Boy**_

_By: Rita Skeeter_

_Our favorite hero, Harry Potter, was caught seen yesterday afternoon in Diagon Alley with none other than Draco Malfoy. This sight alone was cause for speculation as it has been no secret over the years of the pair's animosity towards one another. However, this was not the most surprising of yesterday's events. With the arrival of Lucius Malfoy, father of aforementioned Draco Malfoy, the scene turned ugly. Malfoy Jr., in a clear effort to protect Mr. Potter, moved to stand between his charge and his father. Angry words were exchanged between the father and son before eye witnesses claim Draco sprouted wings and talons and took a potentially lethal swipe at his father. On top of the surprise of Draco showing clearly dominant magical creature genes, Mr. Potter likewise sprouted his own set of wings! Both sets were the same in nature, indicating that both teens likely share the same type of creature genes. Their relationship is a little less obvious. What is the connection between the two? Several other eye witnesses claim to have heard Malfoy Jr. tell Mr. Potter, "We're going home. Now." Clearly our dynamic duo is sharing a bit more than genes. We'll have to keep an eye on these two. At the printing of this article, neither Mr. Potter, Messrs. Malfoy, nor any of Mr. Potters friends present for the event were available for questioning._

* * *

Harry didn't even bother reading the article. The Prophet printed tripe about him endlessly for years. He'd stopped being bothered by it whether it got something right or not; it usually didn't.

Draco read it merely to see what it had to say about them. He wondered which of the gossiping ninnies had overheard him telling Harry to come home and had reported it to the Prophet. Draco was sorry for the article only because it would likely get his mother questioned endlessly by her society friends trying to figure out how he'd ended up with creature blood, what exactly his relationship was to Harry, how they'd come to be living together, and all manner of other things that were nobody's business but the pair's.

He was also glad for the article. It would minimize the shock when they returned to school in two weeks. The whole school was now bound to know that he and Harry had some manner of relationship going on. And they were also likely to understand just what would happen to them were they to try to interfere with said relationship.

This actually worked out better than Draco could have hoped. He'd still likely be bogged down with looks from all over and questions from the extremely brave or stupid, but they would be less intense now. Two weeks for everyone to get used to it would help on the one hand. It would only be time for others to plan on the other.

* * *

Their last two weeks of freedom went rather swimmingly. Draco's mother did visit again, during which time Draco apologized to her for the questions she must still be facing. She shrugged this apology off. It wasn't the first time she'd been in the public eye for something; it likely wouldn't be the last. She knew how to conduct herself and spin a tale and when to say nothing. She was a lot kinder to Harry, however, when she heard tale of how he had sought to protect Draco in turn. Her second visit was a lot more pleasant than her first.

Weasley and Granger paid the pair another visit during the week before school resumed. It was a day long visit, which Harry clearly enjoyed. Draco couldn't say he really enjoyed it, but Weasley showed no outward antagonism to him, so it was bearable.

Draco's own friends never came to visit. This was mostly due to the fact that the blond wasn't sure who he could claim as such anymore. In general, Vince and Greg did not seem to show any indication of wanting to avoid Voldemort's service. That was reason enough to drop them, in Draco's estimation. Pansy was another option. Both she and Blaise seemed decidedly neutral in the war, though both their parents were active Death Eaters. There was still hope for them yet in Draco's eyes. But since no one was clear cut one way or the other, Draco could not risk his own and now Harry's safeties by allowing them near their home. Further, he didn't know if any of them would accept him as a Veela and/or accept Harry as his mate. That was another test for them all.

During the days when they had no visitors, the boys practiced with their wings again. This time it took the form of flying. Before Harry arrived, Draco had flown twice. He was anxious to do it again and teach Harry how to, as well. It seemed easier this time out. Draco's wings helped him take flight on their second day out. Their third had Harry airborne as well, much sooner than Draco's own had. Draco wondered if Harry's knack had anything to do with them being together.

The boys took to the air whenever they could. Higher and faster, racing each other across the sky. They sometimes took to playing with a practice Snitch. Harry usually still got it before Draco, but the blond had his moments, too. And he took every opportunity to brag about those select few times.

When they weren't flying, they were often just talking. Their talks over the last four weeks had brought them a lot closer. Their conversations still ranged from light-hearted banter to school related topics, but they also finally got into personal matters.

Draco finally told Harry about his home life, about his father trying to train him to be Voldermort Slave Jr., about him not thinking he'd still be in contact with his mother once he'd left, but being enormously surprised and glad when he had. He told him about the day he had left home, how his father had tried to bind him for Merlin only knew what purpose, and about how the spells had backfired on him off of Draco's wings. About how his mother had been putting money into his "secret" account and had helped him get this place as a result. About how Harry had been an undeniable help to him through the time he had been adjusting to life on his own.

In turn, Harry also shared with Draco his home life. He shared his history about how he had ended up with the Dursleys and how they had treated him. (Draco silently seethed here, and swore revenge on anyone who would treat his mate with such negligent neglect.) He talked about all the challenges he faced when first entering the wizarding world. He talked about his misadventures from first year through fifth- how he'd fought Quirrell, how he'd slain a basilisk, how he'd met his godfather and found out about who really betrayed his parents, how he'd been forced into entering the TriWizard Tournament and helping aid Voldemort's resurrection, about losing his godfather because of a trap in the Department of mysteries two years ago.

Harry had had to take a break just then. He hadn't been able to go on for awhile while thinking of his godfather. He didn't cry, but Draco sensed part of him wanted to. Draco now understood this was why Harry was so indrawn last year. He had been mourning this man. The man who had offered him a way out of the abusive custody of his relatives, but had died before he'd gotten the chance. Draco knew Harry had loved him in a way, even though he hadn't known him a great deal or very long. But moreso, he loved the idea of him. Someone who would have known him from infancy if things had been different. Someone who would have watched him grow up, loved him from the start. Taken him in and spoiled him rotten if his parents had still been slain by Voldemort. Draco knew Harry would never forgive the one who had taken away his one chance at freedom then, and it sickened Draco to know it was his own aunt that had murdered Black, her own first cousin.

Harry had finally collected himself enough to go on speaking, but he curled his form into Draco's before he did so. Draco gladly supported his weigh, tucking Harry's head under his chin as they sat on their swing. In his quiet way, Draco urged Harry to finish purging himself. Harry did.

He finished by telling Draco about the beginning of this summer. About waking up to the feel of a call in his head and a tug on something within him. About finding out he was apparently mated to something or someone. About no one knowing what for weeks and how the only thing that offered him any kind of comfort or assurance was Draco's feelings transmitted along their bond. How he had felt Draco trying to calm and soothe him and his attempts to do the same. About Hermione telling him he was not only mated to a Veela but was apparently one himself. About going to the Weasleys for the fateful event that would bring Draco into his life.

"You know, I wasn't sure of you at first," Harry said, lifting his head to look into Draco's eyes. "I didn't know what you were doing at the Weasleys or how you'd got there or anything. I reacted to all of that. But I soon realized that if you were the one that I'd been 'talking to' for the past almost two months, then you couldn't have been as bad as I'd thought."

"You had a right to feel anxious originally. It's not like we were friends or anything before all this. And though I was initially not quite pleased to have been attached to you, I feel differently now of course, I realized that either way, you were mine. And now you're stuck with me," he said, ruffling Harry's hair.

Harry just laughed at him. "I want you to remember those words," he told the older Veela. "Because come what may, you're stuck with me now, too."

* * *

**A/N:** Aww. I gush at myself. xD! I like my fluff. Anyhow, this should just about wrap up their summer. Next chapter should finalize their solo time together and get them on the train and on to school. That ought to be fun, eh? :p


	10. So It Begins

**A/N**: I meant for this to be out Christmas Eve as a present to you all, but I was busy and lazy and didn't write it then. So now it's just a general holiday gift. HAPPY HOLIDAYS! :D! So I haven't mentioned Hedwig since like Harry was at Privet Drive. We'll just assume that she accompanied Harry to the Burrow and that the letter Ron and Hermione sent Harry his second day at Draco's was sent with her. And after that she was just off being a cool bird and such. Forgive my lack, though. And thanks to all read/review/follow/favorite! :D!

* * *

Of Dragons and Ravens 

Chapter 9: So It Begins

The last few days before their departure to Hogwarts were spent idly. They'd already packed their trunks for school, the house was clean, they'd mastered control of their wings and were getting control of their ability to fly, they'd arranged time to meet at King's Cross with Harry's friends and surrogate family, Draco had paid for continued use of the house through the year. There was nothing else to do.

They laid in bed their last day home whiling the time away. They allowed their wings out again, enjoying the short bit of time where they'd have the freedom to be so. They couldn't showcase them at school, after all.

"It's going to be funny not sharing a bed with you anymore," Harry commented, stroking Draco's wing softly.

Draco shivered slightly at the touch. Their wings were becoming less sensitized after all this time in constant contact with each other, but it still sent a heightened sense of pleasure through them.

"Yes, it will," Draco mused, with a reciprocal stroke through Harry's hair.

He'd have to figure out a way to increase his and Harry's level of exposure to each other while at school. Just being in a few of the same classes and seeing the other in the Great Hall for meals wasn't going to suffice anymore. Not with their bond.

"We'll have to work out a way to see each other more often in general," Draco continued.

"Right. The only classes we share this year are Potions, Defence, and Transfiguration," Harry recalled.

"We each have two breaks, as well," Draco reminded him.

"But only one of each coincide," Harry reminded Draco in turn.

"That is true," Draco mused.

It wasn't enough time. Maybe he could switch his other break to coincide with Harry's, too. But then he'd likely be taking away one of his classes. That wouldn't work.

"We'll figure something out," Draco told him.

"Mmm," was Harry's sole response as he snuggled further into Draco.

They continued to lay like that, snuggled together, wrapped up in each other, until their stomachs reminded them they'd eaten very little that day. Then they simply moved their closeness to the outdoor swing with their meal. It was late that afternoon when Narcissa found them thus.

"Well don't you two look cozy," she said.

Though her visit was unexpected, her appearance didn't worry the boys. She was one of only three that were still keyed into their wards. After that first visit, Draco had rescinded everyone's welcome save Granger, Weasley, and his own mother. Had anyone else approached their home, they would have been alerted.

"Hello mother," Draco greeted her, extracting himself from Harry's embrace to stand and welcome her properly with an embrace of their own.

"Mrs. Malfoy," Harry said respectfully as he stood and bowed his head slightly.

Draco knew Harry still wasn't quite comfortable around his mother. Harry had felt her lack of acceptance at their first meeting, and despite her slightly warmed attitude at their second, he was still wary of her. Draco also knew she wouldn't warm up completely yet. Harry was still a danger to her son.

"What brings you by, mother?" Draco asked her when the pleasantries were through.

"I came to bid you farewell," she said. "As your father has all but disowned you at this point, we will not be coming to King's Cross station tomorrow to see you off to school. Therefore I thought I would come to say goodbye tonight."

Draco was slightly surprised at this. Not that he'd thought about it a great deal, but he'd never not had his parents there to see him off. It would be odd this year with their absence.

"I also came to warn you. I want you to be careful this year, Draco. I imagine your father's friends will have their children keep an extra eye on you, if they have not planned something more. I want you to watch out for yourself. And you, too," she directed at Harry. "I want you both to be safe and protect each other. This will not be your easiest year."

"I've never had an easy year," Harry reminded her. "But I will be careful, and we'll look out for each other, I promise you."

"Good," she said. "Well, I must be going then. I told Lucius I was just popping off for a bit to pick something up, so I need to go out and buy something now. I will see you later, darling. Good luck at school this year, the both of you."

She finished by pulling Draco into another hug, but surprised both of the boys when she turned and did the same to Harry. He returned the embrace awkwardly until she released him.

"Good luck and I will see you both when you return. You are coming home for Christmas, aren't you?" she asked them.

The boys shared a glance and Harry shrugged before Draco turned back to her.

"I suppose so. We hadn't discussed it actually, but we most likely will," he told her.

"Well good. Let me know and I will have the house ready for your arrival upon your return," she said.

"Thank you," Draco replied warmly. "We appreciate the effort you've put into all of this."

"It was my pleasure, darling. I'm glad you both like it. Now, I really must be on my way," she said and with a farewell gesture she departed.

"Well that was kind of her to come by," Harry commented.

"Yes," Draco said quietly.

They stood in silence for a moment before they returned to their swing. The rest of the night was spent in quiet conversation. They mostly mused about this coming year and what they might expect from everyone, students and teachers alike. They didn't think it would be welcome news to any involved.

* * *

The next morning found the boys in a mess of bed and bodies. They were a tangle of arms and legs and wings and sheets and comforters. They'd never slept so wildly before, but today apparently something was different.

"It's like our wings know they won't be this close again for awhile," Draco said with a scowl as he and Harry tried to separate their feathery appendages again. They were being extraordinarily difficult this morning.

"I know," Harry replied with a similar frown. His wings had never been this clingy before. He tried stroking them to calm their attachment, but to no avail. He'd be giving up soon on trying to dislodge himself from Draco.

"Looks like we'll be stuck together for a bit longer today," Draco sighed, having clearly come to the same conclusion as Harry.

"Let's just go eat before we get ready, then. We still have a few hours before we have to Apparate to the station," Harry suggested. They could shower and dress after they convinced their wings to untangle.

They made their way to the kitchen, walking not much closer than they usually did, really. They were almost always within a few feet of each other; they were just a foot or so closer and physically joined now.

Once they'd gathered something to eat, a much more difficult task now, and settled down to eat all but sitting on top of each other, Harry felt Draco's wings slacken their grip on his own. It seemed they'd relaxed once he and Draco had stopped fighting them. But Harry didn't try to extract them completely yet. Let them have their last bit of time.

They ate with companionable chatter and when they finished, Harry was able to remove himself from Draco's lap without resistance from their wings. It seemed each set had finally accepted the loss of the other.

Draco went to bathe first while Harry tidied the kitchen and brought their trunks to the door. Though they shared a room and a bed, they were never very intimate. They changed in front of each other, but they'd been doing that for years thanks to Quidditch. Though there was a level of appreciation to it now. There was just something deeply intimate to Harry about knowing the body that he was looking at belonged to him almost as much as his own did. He knew Draco felt similar. But their physical closeness had yet to progress past some intense snog sessions and even those had minimal exploration of hands.

Harry wasn't exactly experienced. He'd first kissed Cho fifth year, but that hadn't gone anywhere. Turned out she was still too torn up about Cedric to have a relationship with anyone else, let alone the bloke that was there with him when he died. Sixth year Harry had taken to dating one girl second term. It was only then that he'd finally resurfaced from within his own head from mourning Sirius. The girl had been a fifth year Hufflepuff, so while she was cute and enjoyed kissing and holding hands and spending time together, passions had been all but dulled between them. Harry hadn't minded. He hadn't been looking for anything serious or heated anyway and it'd given him the chance to discover what did and didn't please a partner. He put that knowledge to use when kissing Draco. The girl versus boy pleasure division hadn't arisen yet.

But he was beginning to think he wanted something more. He wasn't sure if it was his normal hormones or the fact that Draco was his mate, but Harry craved a deeper level of intimacy with him. Not necessarily sex yet, but something more than kissing.

While Harry sat musing, Draco had finished his shower and came down to tell him they could switch now. When they were both clean and dressed, they dwindled the remaining time away chatting about inconsequential things, but there was no escaping the nervousness they both felt. They didn't quite know what to expect when they got onto the platform. They were ready for whatever it was, though.

* * *

They arrived at the station 5 minutes before they were to meet the Weasleys and 20 minutes before the train left. They were delaying stepping onto the actual platform until the Weasleys showed up with the Grangers. Draco knew it would settle Harry's nerves monumentally to have his friends by his side, not that Draco's presence didn't quell a great deal of his fears, too.

They were receiving a good few odd looks from muggles and Draco wondered if it was at their linked hands, entwined fingers and all, or the fact that they both had rather large birds in cages accompanying them. Draco knew homosexuality wasn't greatly accepted in the world, wizard or muggle. If that was their problem, they'd have to get over it. Harry was his mate and he would not sacrifice giving either of them comfort just to appease the sensibilities of the mindless masses.

If the birds were the problem, they'd have to get over that, too. They were lucky he and Harry had restricted them to cages instead of letting them fly free. Harry's Hedwig and his own Merlin were both trained owls and knew better than to cause a scene even if they were free.

The wizards that passed them sported looks that were a lot more calculating, suspicious, or outright surprised than odd. He supposed even with the Prophet's warning, some had not believed that they were together. There were a few that looked hostile, though. Seems they both believed and hadn't liked the news. Draco would make sure to watch out for those.

When the Weasleys arrived with the Grangers, they all made their way onto the platform. It was busy as usual and with an increased flurry of bodies as the train left in 10 minutes and everyone wanted to get in their final goodbyes and last minute warnings or advice and checks that nothing was missing. The bustle didn't cease when the party stepped onto the platform, but it certainly changed.

Chatter took on a new tone and those same mixed looks Draco had noticed outside the platform were still present. Some even had the audacity to point in accompaniment to their gossip. Draco almost marveled at the complete lack of etiquette that came with spreading and confirming rumors. And as the new addition to Harry's usual group, Draco knew that he, moreso than Harry, was the main focus of those rumors and recipient of that hostility. That was good, though. He'd rather it be him than Harry. Besides, let these people know that he was still worthy of speculation, still a threat to be reckoned with.

Harry squeezing his hand alerted him to the fact that his less than kind thoughts toward the masses around them were probably directing negative emotions through their bond, which Harry didn't need right now. Draco smiled at him in turn and quieted his thoughts and hopefully calmed his emotions with them.

* * *

Harry said his final goodbyes to the Weasleys and the Grangers and made his way onto the train with Draco, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny in tow. They found an empty compartment and settled in, though Harry could feel Draco was uncomfortable. His mate had been getting more used to his friends over this month, but Harry knew that he still didn't really enjoy their company. Harry thought this was more out of principle than the fact that Draco thought they were truly horrible people.

Ginny was a bit worse as she still barely masked her open hostility toward Draco. Harry thought she only held her tongue because she knew he wouldn't approve. She ignored Draco more than anything, suspecting her complete dismissal of him would stir Draco's ire more than her belligerence. Neither did as Harry knew Draco dismissed her just as completely.

As the train travelled on, Harry suspected Draco really wanted to go find some Slytherins to sit with, but didn't want to relinquish Harry's company. But he would have to eventually, if only to do his Head Boy rounds. Hermione, as Head Girl, would accompany him.

Harry felt Draco's mood sour a bit more when Neville, Dean, and Seamus arrived to join them in the compartment. The latter two were more like Ginny with their almost open loathing of Draco, but they had yet to speak on it, though Harry knew it was only a matter of time. Neville appeared slightly cowed by Draco's presence, but Harry thought Neville's presence was a quiet show of solidarity to stand by his friend and protect him if necessary. Neville was just like that and Harry truly appreciated him for it, even if his heroics were misplaced.

Draco ignored the lot of them. His left hand remained entwined with Harry's right, but Draco's right hand and arm were holding up his head by the chin while the blond stared sightlessly out the window as the world passed by. He was there simply because Harry was. Harry wondered how Draco behaved when alone with his own friends.

They were having an entertaining conversation about Quidditch versus Irish football when Seamus appeared to decide he was tired of Draco's silence.

"So Malfoy," the Irishman drawled, as much as he could given his accent, anyway. "What do you think about Quidditch? I suppose it strikes your fancy a lot less since you never win at it."

Draco said nothing, just continued staring out the window as if he was never addressed, though Harry felt Draco's awareness rise in the back of his own head. Draco just chose to ignore Seamus.

"Oi, Malfoy," Seamus tried again. "I said what do you think about Quidditch?"

When Draco still refrained from answering, Seamus moved to poke or shake him. It was then that Draco turned, annoyance clear in his eyes.

"Touch me, Finnegan, and lose that arm," Draco said to him.

His tone wasn't quite venomous, but it was apparent to all that it could quickly get there. And then Draco's face cleared and he returned his gaze out the window as if nothing had happened.

Seamus did not take kindly to this and moved to make another remark when Harry cut him off.

"Leave it, Seamus," he said.

Seamus was not usually this hostile, but like all Gryffindors, given normal circumstances, he hated Draco, with good reason. Draco had made a sport out of torturing Gryffindors since first year. Frankly, so had all Slytherins, but Draco had been the worst of their year. And now to end up as the mate of the undisputed Gryffindor leader? He clearly wasn't ready to accept him with open arms just yet.

Seamus settled back with a scowl thrown in Draco's direction, but continued the earlier talks with the rest of the group. Draco didn't seem to be upset by the exchange, but Harry sent some comforting feelings anyway. Draco responded by squeezing Harry's hand slightly, but in no other way acknowledged the gesture. Harry sighed but once again immersed himself in the talks of the people around him.

When it was time for Draco and Hermione to go on their rounds, Harry felt a small ache of absence. They had spent so much time together recently and they still weren't used to being apart. But Harry ignored it. He'd have to because 1- Draco had to do his rounds and there was no justifiable reason for Harry to go with him and 2- because they'd be a lot further apart for a lot longer than this once they got to school. He'd have to get used to it.

* * *

Draco walked the train corridor idly. There was no sign of trouble brewing yet. He hadn't seen too much mischief on the train since fifth year, his first year as a Prefect. That had been the Weasley twins' last year there and they were known for their rambunctious fun. No one had even come close to taking their place since their departure.

Draco suspected the trouble he knew was brewing this year to be aimed at him and Harry, though. It was only a matter of time before someone decided to prank or otherwise try and harm them. This would be the perfect opportunity to try for a first attempt- they hadn't reached Hogwarts yet so weren't under the careful scrutiny of teachers and staff or nosy portraits and Draco was alone walking the hallways and perhaps would not expect it. It would only be an idiot Gryffindor or all stars-and-moonshine-eyed Hufflepuff that believed that last, though. Draco expected everything.

He was just walking past a compartment filled with fourth year Gryffindors when it opened a crack and something was thrown out after him. Black smoke erupted from the projectile and Draco immediately recognized a Weasley Wizarding Wheezes patented "Dark as Night."

Draco flattened himself against the wall as some hex, elementary he was sure, flew past where he had just stood. He dropped silently to the floor and shot an _Immobulus_ at the source of the hex. Immediately someone let out a yelp and then the sound of a body hitting the floor was heard. Raised voices were then heard as the rest of the compartment apparently came to check on their fallen friend and angry shouts were accompanied by more spells and hexes fired in random directions in hopes of hitting Draco. None of them did, but several more _Immobulus_-es from Draco had several more fourth year Gryffs on the floor. A wave of Draco's wand had the smoke clearing and he raised himself from the ground to see just who had the gall to attack him.

He was interrupted in his inspection by the sound of feet running down the corridor, and Harry shouting his name. He looked up to see Harry and Weasley racing toward him, Harry wings out, wand up, and battle-ready. Draco supposed his adrenaline rush had alerted Harry to the potential for danger. Or maybe it was all the yelling.

But Draco's own wings were twitching in his back now. They hadn't come out for the attack because he hadn't considered the fourth years a real threat. But despite the fact that they had learned to adjust without the presence of Harry's, they still craved the company. Draco decided to keep them in; it was already bad enough Harry's were out and making a further scene to everyone now poking their heads out of various compartments. He needed to calm Harry enough to get him to retract his, as well.

"Draco, are you okay?" Harry asked, half frantic, half angry.

He likely was shocked to see that Draco had been right about people wanting to do them harm. Especially so soon. He looked down at the attackers then and Draco felt his anger flare white hot. He apparently hadn't expected people from his own House to do anything besides disapprove.

Draco left him to it. It was good. Let Harry get a good eye-full of just what they could expect this year. And if this was what Gryffindors would do, just imagine what would come from less noble Houses.

Draco only intervened when he saw Harry's talons emerging. It wasn't that serious, this time. He grabbed Harry and pulled him into an embrace so he could whisper softly in his ear.

"Harry, calm down," he whispered. "I'm fine, see? Retract your wings, Harry. You're drawing too much attention to us."

"Good," Harry said back, ignoring Draco's hint to whisper. "Let them see."

Tension radiated off of Harry in waves. Draco did not think that was a good sign.

"And let them take this as a warning," he continued, actually raising his voice so everyone watching could hear. "This boy, Draco Malfoy, is _mine_. You. Will. Not. Touch. Him." He punctuated his words with a glare in all directions. "And if you try, you will answer to _me_."

Damn. Harry was clueing everyone in to the fact that they were on the awares. Draco preferred some secret aces in the hole to surprise people with when they tried something. He'd have to calm Harry now lest he show them how strong they were or the fact that they could fly. He sprouted his own wings and let them curl themselves around Harry's. Harry visibly relaxed within his embrace.

"Harry," he said, stroking the raven's feathers to punctuate, "I. Am. Fine. Please, we need to get you back to your compartment."

"Fine," Harry relented reluctantly.

They extracted themselves and Draco watched Harry walk back to their compartment with Weasley in tow, wings still out and dangerous, glaring at everyone he passed. Draco sighed and retracted his wings before eyeing all their spectators.

"You may return to your compartments now. There is nothing to see here," he said to the crowds.

He did a _Mobilus corpus_ on the five fourth year Gryffs and levitated them back into their compartment before noting the names on each of their bags. He would report them to a professor when they got to Hogwarts like a good little Head Boy instead of exacting revenge on them, which he saw as a personal right as a wizard affronted. He probably had some grounds for taking revenge under Veela law, too, but he wasn't sure.

Granger came upon him soon after, panting from her exhaustion from apparently having run there from the other end of the train. She must have heard the commotion or gotten word from someone who had.

"Malfoy, what happened?" she panted.

"Some fourth year Gryffs attacked me, I immobilized them and levitated them into here. I've taken their names down to report to McGonagall when I return. Harry came and caused a scene, but he should be okay now, even though he'd fairly aggravated," Draco said before rubbing his hand over his chest lightly. He felt Harry's turbulent emotions coming through their bond in waves still.

"What?!" Granger squeaked before her eyes narrowed and she looked down at just who the fourth year Gryffs were. As a school leader and from the Gryffindor House no less, she likely saw the miscreants as her personal responsibility.

She pulled out a small scroll and noted the names of the attackers. Draco imagined she'd give them a harsher punishment than even McGonagall.

"Anyway, I'm leaving them here and going back on my rounds now," Draco said.

Granger just nodded absently and continued scrawling notes on her scroll. Draco left her to it and headed out of the compartment.

The rest of his rounds were looking uneventful, though he noticed many people peeping out their compartment doors at him. When he passed the car with Pansy, Blaise, Crabbe, Goyle, Millicent, and Theodore, they all gave him a quick look, some accusatory, some appraising, but he noticed Pansy giving him a longer looker than the rest. It was clear she intended to have a talk with him. Soon. He gave her a small nod and moved on.

He returned to the compartment with Harry and noticed Finnegan looking at him appraisingly, too. He ignored it. He had nothing to prove to any of them. The rest of the ride to school passed almost quietly.

* * *

Harry was just short of seething. How dare someone attack Draco. And Gryffindors at that. Harry was frankly ashamed of his own House right now. They were quite lucky he was not in a position of power at the school and could not punish them as they deserved without breaking school rules. Though he thought he remembered Draco mentioning something about Veela being protected under Veela law when it came to defending and taking revenge in regards to one's mate. He'd have to look that up later.

When they exited the carriage, he wanted to storm through the gates of Hogwarts, dragging Draco behind him. But Draco was walking at a leisurely pace, acting as if nothing in the world was bothering him, and with his hand still laced with Harry's, forced Harry to walk more sedately, too.

They still got looks and points and other gestures, but these were the least of Harry's concerns. He was much more interested in seeing Draco's attackers aptly punished. But he knew he'd have to at least wait until the end of the Sorting. All the teachers were occupied at the moment, so he filed in with the rest of the upper years into the Great Hall. But he wasn't about to be separated from Draco right now. Either he'd be sitting with the Slytherins or Draco was about to join the Gryffindors.

He portrayed this sentiment with a meaningful look and a hard squeeze of Draco's hand. Draco looked him in the eye and sighed before first glancing over at the Slytherin table longingly then walking to the Gryffindor table with Harry. As expected, the Gryffindors did not take kindly to this insult. They were quite uproarious, and even Ron's and Hermione's Prefect and Head Girl statuses could do nothing for it. Harry had had enough for one day. When glaring them into submission failed, and even his yelling didn't have enough of an effect, he simply dragged Draco from the Hall. Bugger dinner there. They'd eat in the kitchens. Food was better there anyway since the house elves always made to order. He could see the new Gryffindors and congratulate them later.

Harry dragged his mate toward the kitchens and Draco just let himself be hauled around. Harry didn't even want to contemplate why he hadn't suggested they go sit with the Slytherins. He imagined the response there would have been 10 times worse than the Gryffindors' had been.

When they got to the kitchens, the house elves were of course falling all over themselves to be serving wizards and could hardly wait to accommodate them with whatever they wanted to eat. Dobby was the worst of them, as usual. He'd initially been a bit wary as Draco was once his former young master and he had residual tense feelings for the Malfoys, but he cheered right up when he was told Draco was in fact mated to the great Harry Potter.

"Would Harry Potter be wanting anything else, sir? Steak? Mashed potatoes? More chicken breast? Raspberry danish? Treacle tart? Dobby knows that Harry Potter loves his treacle tart, sir!" Dobby exclaimed.

"No thank you, Dobby," Harry said when the excited elf finished. "I'm fine for now. Did you want anything else, Draco?" he asked his dragon.

"No, I'm fine as well, thank you," Draco said to Harry with a slight inclination of his head at Dobby.

Their meal passed as peacefully as could be expected when there were nonstop house elves bustling all around you. Then there were the constant cheers emitted from above with what was no doubt the Sorting Ceremony. Harry felt better knowing he was eating before the spiteful crowd, even if he missed Dumbledore's opening speech and the Sorting Hat's new song.

With his full belly and calm feelings and no further threat to his mate, Harry's possessiveness for his mate's company slackened. He supposed, now, he was willing to separate from Draco so they could return to their own House dorms. Even thus, he had no intention on going upstairs until the feast was over. He hoped Draco wasn't missing any important Head Boy duties, but even if he was, Harry knew Hermione would handle them all spectacularly and fill Draco in on all that he'd missed later.

When the dessert dishes returned to the kitchens, Draco told Harry he had to go now. He had to lead the first years to the dorms and keep everyone else in line. Harry sighed but relented. The feast was over, after all. They arrived outside the Hall as the students were filing out.

Draco stepped over to where Parkinson, the other seventh year Slytherin Prefect, was leading the new Slytherins towards the dungeons. She nodded at him slightly and Harry couldn't tell if she was acting in her Prefect capacity or as Draco's friend.

Bulstrode chose that moment to step up and speak to Draco.

"And where do you think you're going?" she asked him. "You clearly chose your lot when you chose to sit with the Gryffindorks."

"And even they wouldn't have him," Nott added with a sneer. "He chose his side in many ways." This last was said with a short glare at Harry.

This exchange angered Harry for several reasons. First, they shouldn't be saying such things in front of the first years, or any of the younger years period. They were all an impressionable lot and could be swayed to hate simply because they saw their older counterparts doing it. They'd need no other reason than wanting to emulate what they saw in hopes of being accepted. Second, they couldn't kick Draco out of Slytherin simply because he was mated to Harry and chose to try to sit at the Gryffindor table with him. He was still a Slytherin. What's more, he was the head Slytherin. And third, Veela didn't choose their mates; fate did. Given half a choice, with circumstances how they had been before this summer, neither he nor Draco would have chosen the other as a mate. They had simply hated each other too much for that, even though they'd had no good reason to. But they'd decided young to hate and being the stubborn prats they both were, had only fueled the animosity for years after.

Draco was taking the remarks a lot better than Harry was; at least, on the outside. His face had shut down into his customary public Malfoy sneer. This was the cold Draco. The ice dragon. Nothing got past that veneer. It all froze to death before it could penetrate. On the inside, his anger was on low boil. Harry wasn't quite sure if it was at the implied insult to himself or the fact that they had called him a traitor to his House or the jibe that even the Gryffindors would not accept him. Maybe a combination of all three. Maybe something more. In any case, Draco was mad.

"I assure you Nott, Bulstrode, that I am still all Slytherin and fully intend to show the newest members of my House where they will reside for the next seven years and give them an introductory chat before I go up to my _Head Boy_ quarters," Draco drawled.

Harry noticed the stress on his title, though. He was conveying to his apparently former cronies that he was still in charge here, still in a position much higher than them and with the capability to do them harm should they feel the need to act out further. Harry appreciated the fully Slytherin tactic.

It looked like his dragon had this situation well in hand. Harry thought he'd better get up to the Gryffindor Tower soon or he'd miss everyone going in and he'd be left outside without the new password.

"Draco, I'm heading up," he said, calling attention to himself accidentally.

Well, it was probably better they remember he was there. Wouldn't do for them to forget the object of their hate. Draco turned to him and nodded slightly before coming over and kissing him goodbye. Harry knew this was as much a statement to anyone watching as it was a farewell to him. He supposed Draco knew what he was doing. Harry turned and climbed the stairs. He was more than a bit nervous to see what his own House had in store for him.

* * *

**A/N**: If it's the Head Boy's/Girl's job to help usher firsties in to and from the boat (I don't remember; been awhile since reading the series) we'll pretend it's not, kay? I like Draco where he is at the moment. And I had so much more I meant to put into this chapter. Half the stuff that just rolled off my fingers I'd never planned on or meant to happen some other way. That's the risk you take when you just write. But now we have material for next time, eh? Thanks to my continued reviewers and Nami who reviewed anonymously! I'm glad you enjoy this. :)


	11. Submissive

**A/N:** It's been over a month. Shame on me. But warnings here for a slight bit of tasteless language later. Don't worry, it will be punished. Now let me not hold you. Carry on.

* * *

Of Dragons and Ravens 

Chapter 10: Submissive

Harry reached the Tower just as the last of his Housemates were climbing through the portrait. Even before he entered the common room he heard a flurry of voices, ranging in pitch and tone. He was annoyed but unsurprised to hear his and Draco's names coming from several areas of the room. When he got in he looked about at his Housemates. It seemed his life was, as usual, the topic of conversation among people of every year.

He watched Hermione and Ron trying to usher and direct the first years to their dorms, but they were paying their instructors little mind as they tried to eavesdrop on conversations from their older Housemates about the latest Harry Potter scandal. Harry got annoyed with the older students just as he did with the Slytherins. The first years did not need to be hearing this rot.

"Will you all just shut it?" he asked, aggravation clear in his raised voice.

The conversations broke off for a moment as people noticed his presence, but they started up again tenfold as his Housemates surrounded him and started bombarding him with questions and accusations.

"What are you playing at?"

"Are you really dating Malfoy?"

"What did he do to you?"

"Have you switched sides, Harry?"

"Are you trying to convert us?"

"Why do you have wings now?"

"Can we see your wings, Harry?!"

"What are you?"

Harry was wearing down under the onslaught of voices aimed at him. He had been through more than enough today. He felt Draco feeling a mix of stress and anger himself. It seemed his mate was under similar fire from his House. Harry wished he had some calm feelings to send him, but he was tapped out himself at the moment.

"Quiet!" Harry heard Hermione yell to the assembly. Bless her.

The ruckus didn't quite calm under her first instruction, so she amplified her voice with a _Sonorus_ that overpowered everyone, making them flinch back from the sound.

"You will not all harass Harry like that. We will have order in this room," she said after she brought her voice back to normal. "Further, how do you expect him to explain anything when you all just yell and shoot more questions at him before he can answer the last? You will give him the chance to explain himself, _if he wants to_, and then you will leave him alone," she finished, glaring everyone into submission.

She looked over at Harry, making everyone else follow suit. Harry sighed. He supposed he owed them all an explanation since he had wanted Draco to sit with them tonight, but he was still rather peeved at them for their refusal and the verbal venom they had shouted at him earlier. But if he didn't explain, the rumors would just escalate and that wouldn't help anything.

He went to the stairs leading to the dorms and stood where he could see everyone.

"Okay, here's the story- Early June, I found out that I was mated to a Veela," he began.

He paused for the surprised gasps from everyone who understood and looks of confusion from those that didn't know what a Veela was. Then he held on for the murmurs of those that correctly deduced that Draco was said Veela.

"Then just before my birthday," he continued, "I found out that I was a Veela, too."

More gasps and excited chatter broke out, but he ignored it and moved on.

"As some of you have already guessed, Draco is my mate."

The chatter was a bit more aggressive at this point, but as this was the crux of the matter, he had to get to the point now before everyone went off on a tangent.

"And as such," he said with a raised voice to draw attention back to him, "he is mine. Therefore, he is under my protection. I will not tolerate anyone doing him harm."

With this, he aimed a glare at the group of fourth years responsible for attacking Draco on the train. They shrunk under his glower and no longer met his eyes. He would deal with them later. He could have made a public example of them, but it wasn't in him right then.

"This is the only warning I will give you. Attempt to harm my mate or myself and I will not be held responsible for the consequences you will face."

A hush fell over the crowd at this point as everyone contemplated just what kind of consequences were in store for those that did not heed Harry's warning. Harry saw some mutinous glares aimed at him and suspected he'd have to prove his word to some before everything was over and done.

"Now to clear up some of your questions- I am not playing at anything. This is just my life now. I am a Veela. I have a Veela mate. Get used to it. Yes, I am dating Draco, if that's what you prefer to call it, though it's so much more than that. He didn't do anything to me. He didn't choose to become a Veela, either. It's just something that happened to both of us. It's a heritage neither of us was aware of before it came upon us. No, I have not switched sides. I am still against Voldemort (he rolled his eyes at the collective flinch here) and plan to fight him and I urge you to be prepared to do the same. But I am not trying to convert you to anything. You will choose for yourselves what you want. As for my wings…," he finished, unfurling them.

He wasn't going to let them out at first, but decided that seeing the wings might calm down some of the people and hopefully distract them from asking him anything else. He didn't particularly like the attention or showcasing himself like a zoo animal, but he currently thought it was better than the alternative.

He stood for a minute as everyone looked at his newest appendages and more excited talk broke out over them. He heard girls cooing at him like he was a cat and murmured desires of wanting to touch his wings. He wouldn't allow that. No one was allowed to touch his wings but Draco. Having decided he had made enough of a spectacle of himself, he withdrew the wings.

"Now if you don't mind, I'm going to bed. Congratulations new Gryffindors. Goodnight."

He heard the prattle continue at a higher level as he ascended the stairs, but he let it go. He would be the center of conversation long into the night. He knew that.

He walked into his familiar dorm and smiled. It was always nice to be back at Hogwarts. And though he had always considered it home, he now thought of his house with Draco as that.

He unpacked his things and put them in their usual places. It was a mindless activity and he didn't particularly want to think right then. When he'd finished, he took his pyjamas and headed toward the shower. Now was an excellent time to wash away the day.

He thought of Draco as he lay in bed awhile later. This would be the first time he'd slept alone in weeks. Worse, it'd be the first time he woke up alone. He was feeling the separation stronger now.

He wasn't actually tired yet. He'd only come up here to escape the mass of people downstairs, but he was bored now. He wished his dorm mates would join him soon, but knew they'd likely spend hours yet catching up with people. He considered going back downstairs, even if he'd face more questions, but thought better of it. Tomorrow was soon enough to have to deal with everyone and everything.

He turned his thoughts inward instead and sought out Draco through their bond. His mate felt much calmer than before, but he was slightly weary now.

* * *

"Explain it again, Draco," Goyle said.

Draco was getting tired of explaining this. This would be his third time through the story.

"I am a Veela. Harry Potter is a Veela and my mate. That's it," he said.

They got the condensed version this time. He wasn't about to go through three months worth of story again.

"But it still doesn't make sense," Crabbe interjected.

Draco would have rolled his eyes if doing so wouldn't be the height of impropriety. He was still a Malfoy, after all.

After he'd escorted the first years down to the dungeons and given them their customary talk, he'd had a flaming row with half of Slytherin House before issuing a one time only warning to the lot of them to leave Harry alone. Then he retreated to his Head Boy room with Crabbe, Goyle, Pansy, and Blaise. He thought they could use some privacy for this talk. Plus, he was assessing their likelihood of still being his friends even with these new developments.

"It doesn't have to. Just know that both Harry and I came into Veela inheritances this summer and found out we are mates. There is nothing much more to it than that," he said.

"Except questionable allegiances," interjected Blaise.

Draco had always liked that about Blaise. Cut right into the heart of things without all the circumventing or circumlocution. He was always thinking several steps ahead and determining the best course of action based on the affect any number of moves could have on him. That's why Draco had yet to beat him at chess.

"Yes, there is that," Draco said.

He just let that statement hang in the air with all of the implications and uncertainties of his position.

"I'm not positive what I'm going to do about that," he said after a moment, "but one thing I am positive about is this- I will not harm Harry Potter nor allow anyone else to harm him, either. He is my mate." He paused. Now for the crux. "I recognize the position that puts myself and you all in. This is your opportunity now to decide- either stand by me or abandon me for possibly safer allegiances. I will understand if you choose the second option now and we will part with no bad blood. But if you choose to stay now and betray me later, there are no words to describe the hell I will rain upon your heads. I will give you a week to decide."

He watched their reactions to his speech. Neither Pansy nor Blaise looked worried, but he had no idea what they were thinking. Like any good Slytherins, they kept everything close to their chests. Crabbe and Goyle, on the other hand, looked nervous and displeased. Draco knew they were weighing their options and couldn't decide yet where their best chances lay. Of the four of them, Draco suspected these would be the two that deserted him now. Not that they weren't decent enough friends, but they would see a higher chance of survival on the same side as the madman that didn't particularly care who he killed rather than siding with Draco, which was virtually siding with Dumbledore, an old coot that was too moral and good for his own good. It was those qualities that would likely end him.

Pansy and Blaise he thought might stay with him, at least for now. Neither had shown any particular interest in being a part of this war to begin with. This was their parents' game and they were the unfortunate offspring that got dragged into it. They had come to accept that they had familial expectations, but neither seemed to want it. Draco was offering them an out, which they might just take. He knew there was at least a chance they would betray him later, though, due to giving in to peer and family pressure, or because they saw a greater chance of survival under the Dark Lord. Draco understood and accepted this possibility, which is why he thought it only fair to give that warning for if they did go that way. He was offering them the Voldemort option now with no betrayed friendship between them. If they chose it later and became traitors to him, he would not forgive them.

So all in all, Draco thought it fair to give everyone a week to decide. It was more than enough time to weigh their options. What they chose was up to them and they would bear the consequences for it.

Knowing they could not move on to lighter topics in the wake of such a decision, he bade them goodnight and they left his room to return to the dungeons.

Draco lay in bed thinking of Harry. How his life had changed with the introduction of his raven. But of course he could not say it started with Harry. He had already moved out of his family home and parted ways with his father and his allegiances almost two months before Harry entered the picture at all, at least beyond the shared feelings through the bond. But thanks to Harry his choice was irreversible. Draco could never agree to serve someone who wanted his mate dead.

Draco sought out their link to determine how Harry was coping with his own Housemates and friends, and felt the bond already wide open on Harry's end. It seemed his raven was checking up on him, too.

_Harry_, he thought with an affectionate smile.

He almost fell off of the bed when he heard a surprised _Draco?_

It was Harry's voice and it sounded like he was right beside Draco in his room. Draco looked around him and was confused to discover that he was still alone. Surely Harry was just behind him.

_Draco?_ Draco heard again, but this time the voice was much more tentative and unsure.

It took Draco a moment to realize the voice was inside his head. He sat dumbstruck for a full minute. Clearly this bond needed more research done on it because it had qualities Draco hadn't even dreamed of. They had telepathy now? When did that happen? How?

_Harry?_ he finally responded.

But there was no answer.

_Harry?_ he thought again.

Still no response.

Draco probed their bond again to discover that Harry's end had been closed off. Draco could still feel Harry's emotions, but it seemed Harry was no longer trying to feel his. Draco wasn't shocked, though, as Harry was currently awash in mixed feelings. He felt amazement but confusion, wonder but uncertainty, hope and a healthy bit of fear. He likely thought he had imagined hearing Draco's voice since Draco had not answered back in time. Draco was tempted to laugh at this. Harry should never doubt what goes on in his head. He supposed he'd tell Harry tomorrow that he really had heard Draco say his name. For the moment, he just sent a few comforting feelings through the bond since Harry was starting to feel oddly anxious. The raven settled down after that.

As Draco lay down to sleep, he decided to leave the link open on his side in case Harry wanted to check on him again. He could see for himself that Draco was fine and he wasn't mad. Well, no more mad than usual anyway. The open link made Draco feel better about being separated from Harry for the night, though some part of him still registered the loss. Well, he was sure he'd get used to it. This was just day one.

* * *

Harry awoke cold and uncomfortable. He felt like he had slept on the floor without clothes on. But there was softness around him and he wondered if he'd fallen off the bed and burst his pillow open.

It hadn't been the best night for him. He had been worried since he'd heard Draco's voice in his head. It had been an amazing thing to think they could mentally communicate, but Draco hadn't answered back when he'd called. For some reason it had made Harry think of Voldemort. The last time Voldemort intentionally got into his head was when he pretended to have Sirius. Maybe the madman was getting into Harry's head again, even despite his Occlumency. And maybe he had found a way to hide the taint of dark magic that Harry had grown accustomed to feeling when dealing with anything Voldemort. This was not a welcome thought.

But Harry had calmed down marginally when he'd felt Draco send him soothing feelings. Apparently Draco was alright. Perhaps Harry had just been hearing things. Maybe he'd imagined he'd heard Draco's voice because he'd been thinking of him. Still, worrying about what Voldemort might have done made for an uneasy night.

Harry blinked his eyes open to reveal that he did indeed have feathers surrounding him, but they were his own. His wings had come out in the night for whatever reason. Maybe to comfort him from his unpleasant thoughts and loneliness from missing Draco. Next he discovered that he certainly wasn't in his bed; he wasn't even in Gryffindor Tower. He had somehow made his way out into a corridor during the night.

Last was the least shocking, though. Harry stared into the sleeping face of Draco Malfoy, wings wrapped around himself and mixing slightly with Harry's. No wonder Harry felt like he'd slept on the floor without clothes- they were in a stone corridor with nothing to keep them warm but thin pyjamas and their own wings, which weren't quite enough to combat the chill of stone.

Still, Harry was pleased to see Draco. He didn't have to wake up alone after all. But he hoped this wouldn't be a continuing occurrence. Being drawn out into random corridors in the middle of the night could not go on. It was a horrible way to sleep.

Harry shook Draco in an effort to awaken him so they could both return to their rooms. They had class today and needed to get ready. Plus, Draco might have some Head boy duties he needed to do this morning, or learn about from last night.

"Draco. Draco, wake up," he said, shaking more when the blond refused to respond.

As had become their usual during their short month together, Draco did not want to get up when first roused. But as Harry could not just leave him there as he sometimes had in their bed, he employed a move that never failed to make Draco come wide awake.

Maneuvering himself between Draco's wings, Harry placed his hands just below Draco's ribcage on both sides of his body and tickled. The blond shot up on a yelp and scurried away from Harry's teasing fingers. He wrapped his arms around himself to protect his sensitive skin and block Harry's next attack.

"Draco dormiens nunquam titillandus. Never tickle a sleeping dragon. Has being at Hogwarts for six years taught you nothing?" he said on a dying laugh in his customary fashion.

He blinked and took in their surroundings. It took him a moment to realize they weren't where they were supposed to be.

"What are we doing out here?" he asked.

Harry just pointed at their intermingled wings.

"Should have known," said Draco before detangling them. "Well good morning," he smiled down at Harry.

And that was why Harry liked waking up to him. What day could possibly be bad when it started with that smile?

"Good morning," he returned with a smile of his own.

They didn't stay in the hallway overlong. It was cold and they both needed to get ready for the day. But as seventh years, they had the morning off from class on Mondays so Harry wasn't in too great a rush.

"See you at breakfast," he said to Draco as they bade farewell for the moment.

Harry returned to his dorm to surprised looks from his peers. He supposed he couldn't blame them. He was in his pyjamas and coming in before breakfast even started. He ignored the looks. This was too much to explain.

He cleaned himself up and joined his dorm mates when they went to breakfast. Hermione was once again ushering the first years to the Great Hall so Harry assumed he'd see her when they were all settled.

He noticed Draco doing the same for Slytherin's first years when he entered the Hall. Their eyes met and by mutual consent they chose to sit at their own House tables today. Harry wondered how the Slytherins were taking Draco's new position as his mate. Likely not well if some of the looks Harry noticed the snakes giving Draco were any indication.

Once everyone had settled down and people were filling their plates, Dumbledore stood up and addressed the school. Harry wondered what it was about. He couldn't remember Dumbledore making a speech the first day of class. That was usually reserved for the night before.

"Good morning, everyone. Might I have your attention for a moment?" his exuberant voice rang out across the Hall. "As we are all present this morning," a look at Harry and Draco, "I believe it is time to address something. We are proud to have in our midst for the first time in Hogwarts history a Veela pairing!" he said excitedly.

Harry was not surprised Dumbledore chose to address this before the entire school. It would cut down on the rumors and fact twisting if he laid down what happened simply. Though he would have preferred if Dumbledore had told him and Draco that he would be doing it instead of just doing so. It was their truth to tell, after all.

And he knew that excitement was faked. Dumbledore had not been pleased when they had discovered that Harry was mated to a Veela, and less pleased when they discovered that Veela was Draco. Nor was he happy when they found out Harry was a Veela himself. But he knew that his seeming acceptance of the pair would go a long way to many others accepting it, too.

"Our very own Messrs Potter and Malfoy have both come into Veela inheritances this summer and have discovered that they are mates. This is a very exciting time for us, but I must warn you- Veela are very territorial and protective of their mates so do be careful to not offend or harm either of them. They are both protected under Veela law regarding acts of defending their mate and claims to their mates. Any challenge to that claim or threat perceived will not go unanswered. Under Veela law, which supersedes wizard law, neither I nor they will be held responsible for any harm inflicted on anyone that does not heed this warning. With that being said, enjoy your breakfast and your classes."

The chatter rang out following Dumbledore's speech. It was merely a reminder to Gryffindor and Slytherin, but news to Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw. They knew something was going on between Harry and Draco but Veela mates? This was quite the latest gossip and confirmed for some of those who doubted Rita Skeeter's article in the _Prophet_ a week or so ago that the boys did have wings and were together.

The talk of the meal was of course Harry and Draco, but some conversations eventually drifted to class and other ordinary things. When breakfast was over, lower years went to class and most of the seventh years wandered back to their dorms or outside to enjoy their free morning before they really considered themselves back in school for the year.

Harry saw Hermione dragging Ron off to the library, but he made his way over to Draco once the Slytherin table had mostly cleared of its occupants. Draco was giving instructions to a few of the Slytherin Prefects who wandered off afterward.

"So what shall we do for the morning?" Draco asked once Harry was in hearing range.

"First I would like to go to Dumbledore about those students that attacked you," Harry told him.

"I believe Granger will have handled that last night," Draco informed him.

"Well I want to know what punishment they received."

"Then shouldn't you ask McGonagall? She is their Head of House, after all."

"She'll be in class right now. She always has first lesson with Hufflepuff first years. Dumbledore should only be in his office, but I don't know the password, so we have to catch him before he gets there."

"Fine, then. Lead the way."

Harry led them toward Dumbledore's office and caught him just before he ascended the revolving staircase.

"Good morning Harry, Draco. What can I do for you gentlemen today?" Dumbledore asked with his usual smile.

"We'd like to talk to you about the students that attacked Draco last night, professor," Harry told him.

"Ah. Please, join me in my office," he offered, sweeping his arm toward the staircase that began to move once they'd stepped onto it.

Once they were in his office, Dumbledore showed them to seats before his desk and offered them each a Lemon drop, which they declined. He took his own seat behind the large desk before broaching the issue again.

"Now, what you like to discuss about the students?" he asked.

"I'd like to know what their punishment is, sir," Harry told him.

"Ah, don't you think that should be between the students and Professor McGonagall, Harry?" he asked benignly.

Harry looked at him like he was mad for a moment. Draco squeezed his hand for some reason, but Harry couldn't quite tell why. He was focused on not hitting Dumbledore over the head with a blunt object at the moment.

"Well, and perhaps Mr. Malfoy," Dumbledore added belatedly.

Harry struggled to bite down on the remark he would have made had Draco not taken a lethal grip on his hand.

"No sir," he got out between his teeth. "I do believe it involves me as well, as Draco is _my mate_. As you said yourself, any threat or harm done to him I will see aptly punished. If I don't believe the punishment handed down by Professor McGonagall suitable enough, I will devise one of my own," he said.

"Oh now Harry, I did give that warning, but it was as a deterrent more than anything. We are all aware that you and Mr. Malfoy will face opposition this year and I expect you both to handle it valiantly, but with as little damage as possible."

Harry had to breathe deeply to staunch his acidic words. How like Dumbledore to give information, but only so far as it was convenient to him, manipulating a situation to his whims.

"Did you in any way lie to the students?" Harry asked.

"No," Dumbledore said.

"So we are protected under Veela law regarding how threats are punished?" Harry clarified.

"Yes, but that is a responsibility and I expect you to handle it as such. You are not to stir any trouble unnecessarily," Dumbledore was saying, but Harry had tuned out after "yes."

"Thank you, sir. That was all I needed to know," Harry said, rising.

He likely wouldn't get a straight answer out of Dumbledore regarding just what the punishment for the perpetrators was. He would have to ask McGonagall. She was a lot less round about in her answers.

"Have a nice day Harry, Draco, and do stay out of trouble," Dumbledore said as the pair left his office.

"Well that was informative," Draco drawled as he trailed Harry down the staircase.

"Dumbledore does a lot of things like that," Harry told him. "Giving you bits and pieces of information but never quite the whole thing. But you usually don't know you're missing pieces of the puzzle until someone tells you. Then you're looking at the picture and notice the small gaps. Then the whole thing gets knocked over before it can really be completed."

"Wow. And here I thought you and Dumbles were like two heads of a runespoor," Draco said.

Harry laughed. He'd never heard that comparison for close before.

"Anyway, the morning is ours. What do you want to do?" Harry asked.

"Follow me," Draco said with a bright smile.

And Harry followed. Because Draco was happy and so Harry was happy and excited to see what could put such a smile on his mate's face. That was the biggest Harry had seen Draco smile since they'd stepped into King's Cross station. There hadn't been a great deal to smile about since they'd left home.

Draco led Harry up to the fourth floor and shortly past the Prefect's bathroom. They stopped in front of a door made of a lovely mahogany. Around the frame were intricate designs of the four House mascots- the lion and snake and badger and eagle. It was a beautiful door, really, and Harry sensed rather powerful spells on it. They were comparable to the spells he'd sensed on professors' doors to their personal quarters, but had nothing on the spells lacing Dumbledore's office. That was spellwork that Hogwarts had made herself.

Beside the door, there was a portrait of a woman. She was dressed in a formal sundress from what looked like years ago and seated upon a chair in what looked like a lady's sitting room. The plaque under the frame said her name was Wilnora Balthoon. Harry had never heard of her, and so didn't know what she did to deserve her portrait hanging up in Hogwarts.

"Hello again, Draco dear. Back so soon? And who have we here?" she addressed Draco.

"Yes, Nora. This is Harry Potter, my mate, and I've come to show him my room," Draco told the portrait.

"Well isn't that nice, dearie. How do you do, Harry?" she smiled down at Harry.

"I'm very well, ma'am," Harry addressed the portrait formally. She could have been a former Headmistress for all he knew.

"Now, what's the password, dear?" she again questioned Draco.

"Raven's wings," Draco said to her and Harry heard the door unlock.

'Raven's wings?' Harry would have to ask why Draco had chosen that password later. But for now his attention was captured by Draco's room.

The bed and closet were made of that same mahogany that the door was made from and sported the same mascot designs, but larger. The bed itself was roughly twice as large as the beds in Harry's dorm and perhaps twice as thick. It was full of pillows and the comforter was reminiscent of the ones at their home. It had a side table like in the regular dorms, though. There was a full length mirror by the closet and a large window on the opposite side of the room to let in maximum sunlight when the sun rose. This would be a perfect angle to watch a sunrise whenever Draco chose.

There was a plump couch set up by a fireplace with a large table in front of it and a small side table, complete with lamp, adjacent to it. Harry assumed this area was to make up for the lack of a common room.

Harry wandered into the room and noticed a door leading elsewhere and he discovered it was a bathroom. It was decorated the same as the Prefect's bathroom, but on a smaller scale. It had a much smaller tub, but still with several taps, and a shower with multiple jets. The toilet and sink were a beautiful white marble than seemed to flow right up from the floor. There was a nicely framed mirror over the sink like in the community bathrooms in the dorms and racks for toiletries beside the sink.

While Harry sat appraising the room Draco came up behind him.

"If you think this is nice, you should see the Prefect's bathroom," he said.

"I have," Harry answered absent-mindedly while perusing the toiletry racks by the sink to inspect their contents.

"What do you mean you have? You're not a Prefect. When?" he asked.

"Since fourth year," Harry told him still looking through his things. "Cedric told me to take a bath there with my golden egg during the tournament. I've used it a few times since."

"Diggory," was all Draco said before he cut himself off.

Harry finally turned to him to see he looked slightly uncomfortable. He assumed Draco was going to make some unflattering comment about Cedric but didn't want to upset Harry with it. He was glad; he really didn't want to hear anything that would make him angry with Draco. So he moved on.

"You have a very nice room," he said.

"Yes. Granger has a similar one on the other side of the Prefect's bathroom, but she says she will be splitting her time between staying there and in Gryffindor Tower," Draco commented.

Harry had almost forgotten Hermione was Head Girl and thus would have her own room. He was glad she would be staying in the Tower sometimes, though. It would be odd not having her there at all.

They spent a bit of time in Draco's room, but decided to head outside like most of the seventh years. It was already September and this nice weather would not last much longer. They had just entered the Entrance Hall when they were confronted by a pack of Slytherins.

Bulstrode and Nott were in the lead, but Harry noticed they were followed by students he recognized from classes he shared with Slytherin, but couldn't recall their names. The pack leaders stopped in front of the Veela pair, and Harry felt Draco tense slightly beside him. Harry wondered what Draco expected this lot to do.

"Well if it isn't the Veela couple," said Nott.

"Answer something for us, Draco, because Theo and I have been debating," Bulstrode began.

"Milli says you're being such a wimp because Potter here has you pussy-whipped," Nott continued.

"But then Theo brought up the point that Potter doesn't have a pussy, so that means you must be dick-whipped."

"To which Milli pointed out that we really couldn't be sure that Potter was pussy-less, which I agreed with."

"But we found our answer when we did a bit of research on Veela. It's obvious to us now that you're Potter's bitch."

"What Milli means is that you're the submissive Veela in this relationship, aren't you?"

"Of course he is. Potter is clearly the dominant one when it comes to their mating. After all, Draco is long used to submitting."

The Slytherin pair just smiled smugly at Harry and Draco after their assessment had been made. The Veela had stood silently through it, not buying into their game, but both Harry and Draco were growing angrier throughout the back and forth. Had they not understood a word of Dumbledore's speech just over an hour ago? You never insult a Veela's mate. But it wasn't until Nott called Draco a submissive that something in Draco snapped, and some corresponding part in Harry reacted.

The wings slowly unfurled from Draco's back, a testament to how in check he was trying to keep himself. Harry knew it wasn't working when Draco's talons began growing, though. A low growl emitted from the dragon's mouth. One look at Draco told Harry that the cold gray eyes had turned molten silver and his canine teeth seemed to have sharpened.

Harry, too intent on watching Draco, didn't notice the changes in himself, but their onlookers did. His wings had likewise unfurled and were steel-hard, his talons, too, had grown and sharpened, his eyes went from a calm green to blazing emerald, and his canines lengthened and honed. But unlike Draco, Harry was not trying to hold back. Harry tore his eyes from his mate and gave a piercing stare to their tormentors.

"Run," he said, his voice maniacally sweet, his eyes alive with lethal mirth.

Harry was not quite in control of himself just then. The only thing that registered with him was that his mate had been insulted on various levels. But most importantly, Draco's dominance had been thrown into question. That insult could not go unanswered.

Luckily for them, the Slytherins noted the quickly deteriorating sanity in the raven's face and were smart enough to take him at his word. They ran. Like the hounds of hell were on their heels.

They hadn't realized Harry had only instructed them to do so because he wanted to give chase. A prize was so much better when you worked for it.

Harry was about to take off after his quarry when a screech loud enough to rend the heavens erupted from beside him.

* * *

Draco didn't know what was happening to him. All he knew was that some vital piece of him was questioned. Some central part of his foundation was shaken. They had labeled him a submissive. Questioned his dominance as a Veela.

This had him experiencing a rage past his understanding and all he wanted to do was hurt them for it. It seemed a simple thing, being called submissive, but it caused such turmoil in his system. All he wanted was to lash out and he struggled to contain himself.

Draco screeched with the effort of holding himself together when almost all of him wanted to break free. Of what, he wasn't sure. But he knew if he succumbed, he would do a lot worse to them than simply correct them.

It was almost painful, this holding back. He had his eyes closed tightly, as if this would contribute to his strength. Even his magic whipped around him, rebelling against his hold on his Veela power. He wasn't sure how long he could fight it all before he surrendered. He actually feared for the lives of those that insulted him. They clearly hadn't known just what they were getting themselves into. Neither had he.

Suddenly, Draco felt arms and wings embrace him tightly. Harry. It couldn't be anyone else. No one else was fool enough.

"Draco, calm down," he heard a rough whisper in his ear.

Draco fought harder for control, drawing on Harry's strength to complement his own. He soaked up the feelings of reassurance and calm and peace that Harry was sending him in waves, letting Harry's emotions override his own for dominance.

When he was almost stable again, and his magic returned to hum in his core, Draco opened his eyes. He could see nothing beyond the white of Harry's feathers and the black of his hair, but that was alright. It was a sight better than that that would have met him had Harry not been standing there.

Around them stood curious but frightened students and professors that looked more than wary. Draco saw them as he released Harry to find his own balance again, both internally and externally. Everyone watched the pair as if waiting for a volatile potion to explode. Draco was not feeling strong enough to deal with them but fought burying his head back within the safe confines of Harry's hair and wings. That would show weakness they could not afford.

Draco stepped back from Harry and leveled everyone present with a solid glare. They had been verbally warned; now they saw the consequences. This is what happens when people insult a Veela. Millicent and Theodore were just lucky that Harry was there to calm Draco down. Without his presence, Draco would surely have lost control sooner rather than later and laid his claws into every inch of them, even if he had to hunt them down to do so. They would not have escaped.

As it was, they would receive a different kind of punishment for their foolish insolence.

But for the moment, Draco wanted respite. He needed a reprieve from having to hold his calm before these people. He was still too wound up. He grabbed Harry's hand and dragged him out the door. They were going to get their fresh air. He needed it now more than ever.

Draco led Harry toward the Whomping Willow. Draco actually hated the tree. It was homicidal. But right now, he feared for the tree's safety were it to try to mess with him more than his own. He chose this spot because few students were suicidal enough to get within 200 meters of it.

Harry made no protest about being dragged out the door or taken to the tree. He seemed willing to do whatever Draco needed him to for the blond to reestablish his equilibrium.

"Let's fly," Draco said.

Still, Harry complied without further command. He flapped his still-out wings and was airborne. Draco joined him the next moment and then they were flying.

This was better. Draco felt lighter already, as if his anger and hostility and loss of control were still earthbound. He had left them all on the ground. There was nothing up here but freedom. Freedom and Harry. They circled each other, raced for the lead. Shooting off to some unspecified destination. So long as it was away from where they were. There was too much to do and think and be where they were. Everything was better up here.

And they flew higher, faster, farther. Anything that kept them aloft. Everything would come crashing back down when they alighted. So they didn't. They flew like the part-birds they were and landed on the rings of the Quidditch goals when their wings needed rest. It was as close as they would come to resting in trees.

No one saw them again until afternoon classes.

* * *

**A/N:** For anyone wondering why Draco reacted so violently to being called submissive, may I redirect you to the prologue of this story. (I've been building up to that for awhile; though even I hadn't planned how they'd react beyond "mad".) But such a violent reaction is a one time thing, for both of them. It's just something they hadn't experienced before, and it will be easier to handle from now on if someone makes that mistake, which they might. That'd be fun. ) Again, I put about one-fourth of what I meant to into this chapter. So material for next time, yay! I'll try to not make it take so long this time. Thanks for all those that read/review/follow/favorite! And a special thanks to whoever added this fic to a community. I've wanted to be in one of those. [:


	12. In Dreams Awake

**A/N**: Look who gets a new chapter already. =p I meant to have it up for Valentine's Day, but oh well. Be loved my fellow Drarry lovers! x3

* * *

Of Dragons and Ravens

Chapter 11: In Dreams Awake

Draco sat at dinner staring at Harry across the room. This was for everyone's benefit. Draco was not pleasant company right now.

He had been right to think that everything would come crashing back down when they landed. It had. All of the anger and hostility he had felt drift away when he'd flown was waiting for him again when he touched down. His only saving grace was his control was not lost again.

But it was sorely tried in his afternoon classes. All of the barely hushed gossip floating around about his outburst this morning was not conducive to him concentrating on his studies. Further, he had to constantly restrain his urges.

Millicent and Theodore made sure to sit as far from him as they could without being on the Hufflepuff side of the room, but it was not far enough for Draco. Having them within swinging distance (In which everything was swinging distance for Draco. It took nothing to fly and slash his talons.) threatened to ignite in him again the bloodlust he had felt earlier. He only abstained by telling himself he would give them a better punishment than death. He wanted something they would live through and suffer.

At dinner they avoided him completely. They had abandoned their usual place among the seventh years in favor of putting more distance betwixt themselves and Draco. Draco was glad they had. He didn't want to test his tenuous hold on himself.

So he focused solely on Harry. His presence was calming, even across the room. The raven was engaged in conversation with Weasley and Granger, but shot Draco looks every so often. Even when Dumbledore made another short speech in the middle of the meal, Draco tuned out everything but Harry. If he lost focus of his focal point, there was no telling what would happen.

He couldn't even talk to Pansy, Blaise, Crabbe, or Goyle. Not that he had ever confided a great deal of his life in any of them, but he could tell them nothing now that they would potentially disassociate themselves from him by next week. He could not afford to give himself any weaknesses should they try to turn information on him over to the Dark Lord. And even if they chose to remain by his side, he would have to be cautious with them from now on in case they turned on him later.

No, the only one he could currently rely on was Harry.

* * *

Harry sat talking to Ron and Hermione, but he kept one eye out for Draco. He could feel the strain the blond was exerting just to keep himself in check and it worried Harry. Not that he cared if Draco hurt Bulstrode and Nott, whom he noticed had fled their usual seats and were immersed far down the table in the third year section. Harry was rather still inclined to hurt them himself, but thought that honor should go to Draco as the one directly slighted.

Harry was explaining to Ron and Hermione what happened that morning as they had been in the library at the time and had only heard rumors of the event. He hadn't explained during their afternoon classes as he'd been rather involved in tracking Draco's emotions. Such a distraction didn't make for good talk or study tendencies.

The blond had been holding himself back for hours now. Harry thought it probably unhealthy. Draco's magic had rebelled just hours ago when the dragon had leashed his instincts. If Draco didn't do something soon to quell his need for vengeance, his magic, both Veela and wizard, might take the choice out of his hands.

Harry had barely held himself back from snorting when Dumbledore had given another speech regarding him and Draco. He issued yet another warning to watch what was said and done to the Veela and with as severe a look as one such as Dumbledore could give to Bulstrode and Nott. He reiterated again that neither he nor Harry nor Draco would be held responsible for harm done to perpetrators, though he gave both Harry and Draco a meaningful look when he said this.

Harry ignored him. He was not worried about what Dumbledore expected of him regarding this. Everyone had already had their warning to leave him and Draco alone. If people chose to ignore it, so be it. They would face the consequences. Draco didn't seem to hear Dumbledore's speech at all. His eyes had not left Harry all meal as far as Harry could tell. This might have been cause for speculation or further worry, but Draco seemed fine beyond the strain he put on his urges. So Harry didn't push him.

"So the whole thing was about being called a submissive?" Ron clarified.

"Yes," Harry answered in short. It was a sensitive topic.

"So if Draco is the dominant, doesn't that make you the submissive?" Hermione reasoned.

Harry froze up. Something in him rebelled against the title. It was an affront to his dominance. An insult to his authority and power as a Veela. No, he was not a submissive. He was a dominant. He fought for control against raging this at Hermione.

"No," he bit off, far more vehemently than he meant to.

She immediately backed away from his anger.

"But if one of you is dominant, the other has to be submissive, mate," Ron said, clearly not catching on to the cue to cease speaking.

"No!" Harry said louder, drawing attention to their group.

Harry didn't care. His dominance had now been questioned twice. He found himself quickly growing more angry at his friends than he had ever been.

Harry sought Draco with his eyes and one look told the raven his dragon understood. Together they rose. Almost everyone watched them as they left the Great Hall.

* * *

By unspoken mutual consent, they returned to Draco's room. Even Wilnora didn't try to engage the boys in conversation, beyond asking for the password, seeing their withdrawn expressions.

Even ensconced in Draco's room, the boys did not speak. There was too much residual energy crackling between them, even though their animosity was not aimed at each other. They didn't know what to do to dissipate it.

Both of their dominances had been called into question, one query out of innocence, the other in malice. But despite the intention behind each question, both parties were equally unsettled.

No words seemed fitting just then, so neither bothered to say any. Instead, Draco walked over to the window and looked out. The desire to open it and feel the evening air arose and he gave in to it. He felt his wings twitching in their nubs so he released them. With their sensitivity, Draco was aware Harry had done the same behind him.

He turned to his mate, both whose face and emotions revealed his unstable thoughts. Draco followed the pull in his wings that drew him to Harry. Desire born of instincts he was still adjusting to, Draco lifted his hand to trail his fingers down Harry's face. Draco watched recognition of the desire spark in Harry's eyes. With no more invitation than that, Draco kissed him.

It started off slow. Just a slide of lips, as easy as the breeze tousling their hair right then. But it soon grew to be more, Draco pushing at Harry's mouth, his tongue demanding entrance inside. And Harry submitted for awhile. He was lax, allowing Draco to have his way until the need to assert himself died in Draco and he thought to return the kiss to its previous slowness.

But Harry killed that dream. As soon as Draco had backed off, the raven took charge. And he was just as demanding, just as passionate as Draco, but more. Harry didn't allow for laxness. The way he moved his lips and tongue commanded response. His fingers twined in Draco's hair and pulled slightly. Not enough to hurt but enough to get the blond's attention.

And Draco responded in kind. His lips and tongue fighting Harry's for supremacy. Neither could win but the battle waged on.

It took Draco less than a minute to realize this was a power play. Their Veela natures were asserting themselves, demanding recognition of their dominances. And they clashed, as two natures vying for dominance at once were bound to. And it was explosive.

All passion and power and fight. And roaming hands.

Draco felt Harry's hands leave his hair to explore his body. Caressing here, groping there. The slide of fingers was unhampered by clothes. It's like they weren't even there. And the touches were intoxicating. Draco pulled Harry to him like he could draw the boy within himself. He wanted to feel like this on all levels. And then maybe the feelings wouldn't stop.

And Harry attacked Draco's mouth more savagely in response. But it was a good aggression. Teeth got involved and Draco felt a sharp nip of pleasure soaked pain. But it was quickly followed by Harry's tongue and that licked the pain away within a second.

And Draco didn't submit- biting at Harry's lips, sucking on his tongue- until neither of them could tell whose mouth was whose. It was a sloppy mess of lips and tongue and teeth and it was glorious.

They drew away gasping for breath. It seemed like several minutes since Draco had last drawn one and it took a moment for him to fill his lungs again. He looked over at Harry and his mate appeared to be in the same condition.

He watched as Harry glanced over at him, too. They shared a meaningful look for what seemed like forever. And then they just laughed.

* * *

Harry caressed Draco's wings. They twitched under his ministrations and he smiled. They lay cuddled in the bed like there were no demands on their time or attention or control.

Harry was staying in Draco's room tonight. He didn't care what anyone else thought about it, either. Both he and Draco were in curious places right now. Harry didn't particularly feel the need to exact revenge on his friends as Draco did on his former cronies, but he was still rather angry at Ron and Hermione and he didn't know the extent of his anger. It could build back up and boil over were he to be in their company again tonight.

Besides, he and Draco needed to reaffirm their positions in each other's life. They were both dominants- something Harry had never heard of, but then again, he didn't know a great deal about Veela, either.

Their intense snog session had gone a long way toward taking the edge off of their frustrations, but it hadn't killed them dead. The need to aver their dominances was still there. Not to mention the desire to prove their word to everyone remained. But both desires could wait. For now they'd just take time for themselves.

"I heard your voice in my head last night," Harry heard from above him from where he lay on Draco's chest.

"What?" Harry asked. Not because he hadn't heard, but he wasn't sure he'd heard correctly.

"Your voice. It was in my head last night," Draco repeated.

Harry processed the words and was going to tell Draco he didn't understand, but before he could a memory was triggered. He had heard Draco's voice in his head last night, too. Or at least he'd thought he did before he dismissed it as his own imagination. Now he wasn't so sure. Shock had him looking up into the smiling face of his mate.

"But how?" Harry asked.

Draco gave a noncommittal sound before saying, "I'm not sure. Likely just another benefit of our bond."

"But how does it work?" Harry queried further. "I thought I heard your voice in my head, too, but you didn't answer when I called you."

Draco's ears slightly redden before he replied.

"I was in a bit of shock, I'm afraid. I'm unaccustomed to hearing voices in my head," he said.

Harry ducked his head at this point. Frankly, he was all too familiar with hearing voices. Voldemort hadn't intentionally tormented him with visions for over a year now, but he still got occasional flashes into the madman's head. Further, he remembered quite clearly the tortures of years past, seen with or without Voldemort's intent. Sirius and Mr. Weasley fifth year, the old man at Riddle House fourth year, among countless others. And when Voldemort was feeling particularly malicious, Harry heard his mother's dying scream.

Draco must have felt the sudden change in Harry's mood because he lifted the raven's head back up to peer into his eyes.

"What?" Draco asked.

Harry averted his eyes, trying to determine whether or not he wanted to share this bit of himself yet. Like he wasn't already enough to deal with just being The Boy Who Lived without the added benefit of hearing voices.

"Harry," Draco said. It was a request and a chide all in one.

Harry sighed before meeting Draco's eyes again. Some part of him knew Draco would accept this new information (Harry was sure this was his Veela instincts encouraging him to trust his mate) but he still feared Draco's initial reaction to the news.

"I am used to hearing voices," Harry began.

Draco furrowed his brow in confusion so Harry explained.

"I am connected to Voldemort through this," he indicated his scar. "He sends me visions- sometimes in my sleep, and at others when he just isn't guarding his own mind well enough or feels something strongly."

Shocked silence met the end of Harry's explanation as Draco almost gaped at him. Harry probed Draco's feelings to determine just what the blond thought of his situation. Harry expected disgust for his having such a connection to Voldemort, and there was a bit of disgust, but there was mostly shock and confusion. But all of that was quickly superseded by a white hot anger. Harry reeled back from it. Being as intimately tied to Draco's emotions as he was, Harry was more than close enough to get singed from the heat of it. He would have been burned even were he not probing Draco's emotions; but since he had been, he got a full blast of its affects before he'd cut off the search.

"How long?" Draco bit out, no longer looking at him.

Harry didn't understand. "How long what?"

"How long have you had this connection to him?" Draco clarified.

Harry furrowed his brows now trying to remember.

"Probably since he gave me the scar," he said. "It gets worse when he's near, though. I think I first felt it first year when I met Quirrell. It has gotten stronger as he has in the years since."

Draco gave off another wave of anger and his facial muscles tightened, but he didn't give any other answer to this new information.

Harry dared another probe of Draco's feelings. The rage still blazed there, but he fought past that to discover there was a bit of pity, a heap of shame, and a great deal of revilement, also. Harry flinched back from it all again. He wondered how much of all that was for him.

Harry, not daring to hope none of the revilement was aimed at him as the vessel for these horrific visions, extricated himself from Draco's embrace and moved to the other side of the bed. He didn't want to be held by someone that was revolted by him. His fear was only fed by the fact that Draco didn't seem to notice his absence.

He watched the play of emotion on Draco's usually inexpressive face as the blond tried to calm himself. Harry didn't assist as he wasn't sure any feelings sent by him would be welcome just at the moment. When Draco had regained his calm, he blinked down at his empty chest and again at Harry on the far side of the bed, his eyes showing slight confusion again. But he apparently didn't think it odd enough to comment on.

"I'm sorry you've gone through all that," he said, he eyes reflecting the remorse in his words and voice. "I didn't know."

The apology for something he clearly had no part in made Harry feel better. It didn't look like his mate was disgusted by him.

"Not many people do," he said.

Since it didn't appear Draco was going to get into all of the things he had been feeling and Harry wasn't eager to learn of the specific reasons behind most of the emotions, he returned to a safer topic.

"You said you knew how the telepathy between us worked?" he asked again.

It took Draco a moment to adjust to the change in subject, but he caught on soon enough.

"I believe so, but we have to test it. Try to tap into my emotions," he instructed.

Harry did as told, though warily. He wasn't keen on discovering that Draco still held some of the earlier anger. But the blond was exuding nothing but his usual calm tinged with slight anticipation and curiosity. Harry felt when Draco opened up his side of the link so it was fully active both ways. Then he heard Draco's voice.

_Harry?_

Harry looked at Draco's face to see his next instruction, but the blond was just looking intently at him.

_Can you hear me? _Harry heard Draco say, but the boy's lips hadn't moved.

Harry's eyes widened and Draco smiled brilliantly at him.

"All it takes is us both using the bond?" Harry asked aloud.

_I don't know,_ Draco thought. _Try thinking something back to me._

_Hello?_ Harry offered as a test.

Draco just laughed in his head.

_It works!_ the blond exclaimed excitedly.

_How long have we been able to do this?_ Harry mused.

_Probably the entire time_, Draco responded. _We just never knew it. _

_I wonder how far the range is for this._

_We'll have to test it out. I wonder if we can initiate contact when only one of us is searching the bond._

_We'll have to test that out, too._

_Okay let's try that one now. Stop trying to reach me._

Following instructions again, Harry ceased feeling for Draco's emotions.

Draco went back to looking intently at him. Harry couldn't tell what the blond was doing mentally. His eyebrows furrowed in concentration then frustration as time went on, and Harry could tell Draco was growing aggravated with his lack of current success.

"Do you feel anything?" Draco asked aloud.

"No," Harry told him.

Draco cursed softly but went back to his efforts.

Harry stood patiently waiting to see something happen, though he didn't know what.

Finally Draco asked again, "Now?"

Harry shook his head and Draco let off an agitated breath.

"I give up," he said. "You try."

Harry wasn't sure how to go about it, but he opened back up his connection to Draco. He could feel Draco's emotions, but Draco had closed off trying to feel Harry's.

_Hello?_ Harry thought in Draco's direction before looking up at the dragon expectantly to see if that had done anything. Draco just stared back at him.

Harry tried again, probing at the bond slightly. A blank look from Draco told him that was unsuccessful, as well.

Harry gave it one last effort, pushing a bit of his magic toward the bond coupled with his desire to talk to Draco mentally.

A sound from Draco caused Harry to look at him again and the blond's eyes had widened slightly.

"I felt something," Draco said. "What did you do?"

"I just pushed a bit of magic toward the bond and thought of wanting to speak to you through it," Harry informed him with a smile.

"That's it?!" Draco exclaimed. "I tried all manner of nonverbal spells and concentration techniques and you simply thought of wanting to speak to me with a little magic thrown in?"

He continued his grumbling and Harry laughed at him. Wizard magic always had come rather easy to Harry. It seemed Veela magic was no different. It was simple. But then again, Draco had always been the type to overcomplicate things.

"Let me try," Draco said. "Close down your link again."

Harry obeyed and watched as Draco's face took on another look of concentration.

Suddenly Harry felt a nudge along their bond in his chest. He almost rubbed at it before realizing that was likely what Draco had felt when Harry had wanted his attention a minute ago.

"I felt a nudge," Harry told the dragon.

"That's what I felt when you tried," Draco said triumphantly. "Now we know what it feels like. That will be the signal to signify that one of us wants a mental conversation," he finished on a smile.

They spent the rest of that night toying with their newfound mental connection. It would no doubt prove useful, this year especially. Soon they would test the limits of its range.

When Harry woke the next morning, he called Dobby to retrieve his clothes and toiletries for him and he used Draco's bathroom. They walked to the Great Hall together in rather high spirits.

As they entered, Harry's friends immediately caught his attention from the Gryffindor table. Harry sighed mentally. He was no longer mad at them, though a strain of annoyance crept up upon seeing them. But Harry squashed that, too. They had meant no offense with their questions. He had to remember that.

"Harry, where have you been?" Hermione asked him before he even sat down.

"I thought that would be obvious," Harry said with a blatant look at Draco taking his place at the Slytherin table. He heard Hermione gasp.

"You slept in Draco's room?" she said, scandalized.

"Why is that such a surprise? We share a house," Harry reminded her.

"You sleep together there, too?" Ron asked disgusted.

Whether at the fact that he shared a bed with Draco or with any boy, Harry didn't bother asking. He refrained from answering that question at all, letting his silence speak for itself.

"But it's against the rules!" Hermione continued.

"Draco and I are mates, Hermione. We're practically married. Is there not some kind of contingency plan or allocations for married couples?" Harry asked her.

"Well," the girl trailed off, likely lost in thought going over her catalogue of school rules and exceptions. "When Hogwarts gets a married couple, they're allowed to either stay in their regular dorms or they are assigned a marriage suite, which is located off the Great Hall."

"And that applies to Head Boys, too?" Harry asked.

"There was no specification for Head Boy or Girl, so I would assume so," she said.

"Well we'll have to take it up with Dumbledore. Or we would were I planning to stay there, but I only spent the night," he said.

Hermione looked like she wanted to say something else but Ron interjected.

"It's no big deal, Hermione. Let him sleep wherever he wants to. It's not like school rules ever really applied to him anyway," Ron finished on a laugh.

Harry mentally agreed. Hermione just puffed up like she was affronted, but even she didn't deny the claim.

That day passed pleasantly for Harry. He enjoyed catching up with his classmates and even liked his N.E.W.T. level classes, despite the increased difficulty and homework. That night he got to know some of the first years. Despite the hero worship some of them portrayed, he was pleased to see how excited some of them were to finally be at Hogwarts or how astonished others were to find out they were wizards to begin with.

* * *

The day didn't go as well for Draco. As the majority of his House considered him a traitor, he was isolated from a vast amount of his peers. Other students steered clear of him because they felt the shift in the status quo and didn't want to get caught in the cross fire in case something collapsed from within. Still others were just used to him being a threatening presence and had long ago learned to stay out of his way; his newfound power and authority were just more reasons to adhere to that law.

Millicent and Theodore, along with their new lackeys, made sure to stay within large groups. Draco assumed they were now on the lookout for when he would exact his just revenge. While he scoffed at the Gryffindor tactic, even that would not save them. When he decided how to avenge his Veela pride, he would follow through. They would taste the rewards of their foul words.

Draco's friends hung on the fence, however. They were not avoiding him, but nor were they actively seeking his company as they once might have. They shared a few words here and there, but whatever glimmer of openness they had possessed prior to this school year was almost completely faded.

Draco could understand. They were still within the week time frame he had given them to choose sides. While it was obvious no one had decided to join his camp yet, neither were they against him right now. They were all still weighing their options. And while they were undecided, none of them wanted to make an enemy of those still aligned with Voldemort nor him.

It was a good strategy and one he could respect. He would never admit that the lack of companionship caused him slight feelings of loneliness, though. He had grown up an only child. He was well acquainted with the feeling, despite how many things his parents had bought him or beneficial play dates they had organized to deter it.

Draco refrained from trying to converse with Harry during these lonely times. By the feelings the raven projected, he was enjoying whatever activities he was engaged in and Draco didn't want to sour his mood. He would deal with the feeling as he always had- by busying himself with distracting activities. He might as well read up on Potions. He had that class first thing tomorrow.

Draco was pleased when Harry initiated conversation later that night, though. He had long since finished reading for all of his classes tomorrow and had been doodling with his wand in the air. His conversation with Harry was a lot more enjoyable as the raven told him about his day. Draco laughed when Harry told him about Granger fussing over the rules of their shared bed last night. He was Head Boy. He knew the rules. What's more, he knew what he could get away with. He laughed harder when Harry grumbled about the first years that had hung all over him earlier that night asking for stories of his miraculous defeat of the Dark Lord in his infancy and his continuous escapades since. If there was one thing Draco had learned about Harry, it was that he did not enjoy the fame that came with his position. Nor did he enjoy the position at all. He didn't think it deserved. Harry only saw himself as a lucky survivor. Draco had been astonished with that revelation.

They talked for awhile until Harry complained of a mild headache and begged off to sleep. Draco had let him go with little concern. The headache would likely dissipate with rest. How wrong he had been.

* * *

Harry's body was wracked with feelings from a dream not of his own making.

_He sat upon his throne and watched his worthless servant approach him with trepidation. The man should be scared. He had failed his master time and again. Lord Voldemort could only be forgiving for so long._

_But this was beyond the pale. The man had come upon an irrefutable treasure, but had failed to inform his lord about it? Then he had lost control of not only said treasure, but what would be a future member of his lord's ranks, too? _

_But to add insult to injury, this worthless man's misplaced treasure became irrevocably attached to the one boy that had eluded his lord's capture time and again, year after year. This treasure was undoubtedly the best chance his lord had to securing the damned boy's head on a stick._

_And he thought none of this worth mentioning?_

_He had to hear about it from parents of gossiping school children instead of who should have been his most trusted servant. It was almost insulting._

_He watched the man whimper helplessly at his feet while he babbled apologies. He didn't want to hear them. He had learned enough from the man's silence._

"_Rise, Lucius," he said._

_He trained red eyes on the sniveling man as he rose._

"_Not only have you lost control of young Draco, but you failed to inform me he was a Veela. I expected better of you."_

"_My Lord, I intended to inform you when I had the situation better in hand," the blond man babbled._

"_Do you not find it embarrassing to admit that you could not take charge of your 17 year old son?" he queried him amidst snickers from the surrounding Death Eaters._

"_Yes, my lord, but I did not want to damage him too badly. I wanted him still in fit enough shape to be of service to you. I wanted to devise a way to assure his obedience without compromising his newfound gifts, my lord."_

"_And how might you account for failing to tell me of these gifts?"_

"_I'd planned to do that when I had the boy in hand. I wanted to present him as a sacrifice to your whim."_

"_And did you not think his classmates would inform me once they'd discovered his talents?"_

"_A slight miscalculation in my plans, my lord. I did not realize he would display them so openly so soon."_

"_And what of his mating to Potter? You told me nothing of it."_

"_I did not realize the extent of his connection to the Potter boy. I only witnessed them together once."_

"_Yes, I saw that article in the 'Prophet.' I thought it a hoax since you told me nothing of it."_

"_Forgive me, my lord. I was attempting to secure my son that day. I only came upon him accompanying Potter. I now realize Draco was protecting his…mate." _

_He watched the man's lips slide into a sneer as he said that last word. Misguided as all of his actions were, it appeared he had not known the depth of his deception or the consequences of his omission. Still, such deception could not go unpunished._

"_While I can appreciate you wanting his presentation to me to be special, Lucius, it would have been better had you informed me of any of this before he returned to Hogwarts. Then we could have captured him before he was once again under the protection of that muggle-loving fool. We have lost our chance at least until the winter holiday. I am disappointed, Lucius, and you must be punished for that. How else will you ever learn?"_

_He smiled down on the trembling man as he raised his wand lazily and pointed. With a languid incantation of 'Crucio,' the man was screaming and writhing on the floor. _

_He laughed to see it and laughed more to hear the echo of a scream in his head from the boy he had pulled into himself. It had taken more time than he would admit to traverse the obstacles in the boy's mind shields and learn their patterns, but he had broken through them just for this occasion. Let the Light's hero, the Boy Who Lived, bear witness to the torture of his lover's father. And let him know that his lover was next. _

Harry fought for consciousness as Lucius' screams wracked him. He fought, but Voldemort would not release him. Harry could not help but watch Lucius squirm on the floor as torturous cries tore from his throat. And Harry joined him, feeling as if he had been _Crucio_-ed along with the man. He could no more escape the pain than he could the prison of Voldemort's mind. Even knowing this was a dream didn't help. So he screamed, and hoped that someone would hear and break him free.

* * *

Draco woke with a start and heard Harry screaming in the back of his mind. The bond was pulling at him and Draco almost fled the room with no further lure than that. He had never heard anything like Harry's scream in his head, at least without their intentional mental connection, and had not felt a desperation like this from Harry since the raven had almost caused Draco to fall from the sky in his flight training.

The bond was pulling him hard, but Draco wanted to check that this was not a false alarm before he panicked. If he could hear Harry's voice in his head, maybe Harry could hear his, too.

_Harry?_ he thought.

No intelligible answer.

_Harry?_

Only the screams continued.

Genuine unease began to leak into Draco and so he probed Harry's emotions.

_PAIN!_

Unendurable pain plagued his raven. Draco reeled back from it, unconsciously closing the link between them. He had never felt such a thing in his life, but had heard that the Cruciatus Curse felt like that. Endless, insurmountable pain. And Harry was playing victim to it.

Now Draco ran. He was out of his room and running in the direction he believed Gryffindor Tower to be. When he got on the landing after the Entrance Hall he stopped, unsure of which way to go from there. Maybe he should have seen if Granger was in her Head Girl room before he just left. No time to backtrack now. Harry was suffering.

Draco concentrated on the bond without opening it up to let the pain blind him. He just needed it to lead him to his mate. For double insurance, Draco released his wings, knowing they would lead him to Harry's, open bond or no. And they did, curving slightly to his left. So Draco followed them, up this staircase, around that corner. He followed until he ran into a portrait of a rather large, nervous looking woman.

Both his wings and his bond pulled him forward, so Draco surmised there was a passageway behind the portrait.

"Open," he said to it.

She looked at him apologetically but said, "Sorry dear, I need the password."

"My mate is in there! That's my password," Draco growled.

This painted woman was the only thing standing between him and securing his mate's safety right now.

"I'm sorry, but that will not let you pass," she said.

Draco snarled at her.

"Open the door or I will shred you!" he screeched, his Veela nature rising with this hindrance.

"I can't," she wailed, but watching him warily now.

Incensed beyond what his patience could stand, Draco's wings hardened and his talons began growing.

"Final warning, woman. Let me pass or the only thing left of you will be confetti," he bit out.

With a terrified shriek, her portrait flew forward to reveal a hole in the wall behind her. With the opening of the Gryffindor common room, Draco became aware of the very loud screams emanating from up a staircase on the far side of the room. There were also people littering about the room looking uncomfortable and shooting worried looks up the stairs, but none of them were of the least importance.

Draco ran into the room amidst surprised gasps and cries of the noble House members, but he ignored them all. When people littering the steps got in his way, he took to the air and flew up the steps. Draco landed outside of a room and heard worried shouts and other fearful noises within.

He broke through the door to discover Harry's bed surrounded by Weasley, Finnegan, Thomas, and Longbottom. Weasley and Longbottom were on either side of Harry's bed screaming and trying to shake him awake and Thomas and Finnegan were shouting Harry's name, trying to rise above the din already emitting from the raven's mouth.

Draco made quick work of pushing past all of them to engulf Harry in his arms. The boy did not seem to register anything of his actual surroundings. He continued to scream and his body shook with spasms Draco had not been aware of when Weasley and Longbottom had been shaking him.

Draco knew that nothing outside of Harry would penetrate into whatever was going on within him. So he searched their bond again. The pain was still there. It was enough to lay Draco flat if he didn't have something to fight for.

It hurt, but Draco fought it. He screamed himself but he pushed on. He broke past the pain and found Harry's end of the bond. Forcing his way along it, Draco heard the sound of his own father screaming and someone laughing maniacally. Draco knew this was the voice of the Dark Lord. He had feared hearing this voice for years. And both his father and his mate were plagued by it now. And the madman was enjoying it.

Draco continued coasting along the bond, hoping it would lead him to a way to cut Harry off from the Dark Lord's hold. He knew he could do nothing for his father. It led him to Harry's mind where Draco found layer upon layer of shielding. But it was tainted. The Dark Lord had trespassed here and navigated Harry's defenses. He had penetrated the boy's mind again.

The bond urged Draco to build. Construct new walls inside Harry's mind, ones only he could circumnavigate. And Draco built. He wasn't the best at Occlumency, but he had learned some from Professor Snape. Snape had taught Draco in the chance that he would have to hide something from Voldemort one day. He must have known there was something more.

And Draco layered. What he lacked in style, he made up for in sheer number. His walls didn't all twist and turn like the ones Harry had built did, but Draco's were thicker than any Harry had made. He stacked them complementary and at other odd angles to make up for the fact that they lacked curves. Draco's walls were more of a maze than anything, but one that would take years to get through. Even where it lacked finesse, it was intricate.

The more Draco built, the quieter Harry's screams became and the less Draco heard of both his father and the maniacal laughing. Draco got to the point where Harry's screams had died down into a pained pant and his vicious spasms were barely twitches. When Draco laid his last wall, his father's screams, which had become a distant echo, faded completely, and the Dark Lord's laughter turned into an enraged roar as he shouted, "_NO!_" And then all was silent in Harry's mind.

Harry was safe from the Dark Lord, but he still thought his body resonated with the pain of the Cruciatus Curse being placed on him.

Draco pushed magic and comforting feelings into Harry. He didn't think Veela had the power to heal, not even their mates, but maybe it would help somehow. Not that Harry's body was really injured. Both the Cruciatus and Imperius Curses were mental. Harry only thought his body was pain stricken. But the thought was enough.

When Harry calmed and his twitching had ceased, Draco withdrew from within his mind. Fully in his own body again, Draco watched Harry's eyes flutter open.

"Draco?" Harry croaked, throat raspy.

Draco just hugged Harry closer to him. All that screaming had taken its toll on the boy. When Draco saw Weasley holding a cup of water out to him, he took it and pressed it to Harry's lips. The raven drank without complaint, but coughed as the water scoured his throat.

When he finished Draco handed the cup back and thanked the redhead.

He settled Harry back down in his bed where the raven fell into an uneasy but more restful sleep. The dream no doubt still played on his mind. Seeing as Harry was as comfortable as he could make him, Draco turned to the rest of the room.

Harry's dorm mates still hovered around, trying to be unobtrusive but shifting back and forth awkwardly.

"You may return to bed. I will watch over him for the rest of the night," he told them.

Though none of them were his favorite people, he would not overlook the fact that they had all tried to help his mate. For that alone, he would at least be courteous to them. At most, he would find a way to repay their friendship on Harry's behalf.

Somewhere along the way Granger had forced her way into the room. Draco wondered if she did it on the authority of Head Girl or one of Harry's best friends. Not that it mattered now. She hadn't been on time to help (Draco now assumed she had spent the night in her Head Girl room and was awoken by one of her Housemates), but Draco could tell she was concerned all the same.

"Granger, will you inform your Housemates downstairs that it is over and they may likewise return to bed. I would tell them myself but I am reluctant to leave Harry's side."

Draco said this before returning his full attention back to his mate. He would rather take Harry back to his room. But he didn't know if it was a good idea to move Harry at all right now. He would make the boy be seen by Madam Pomfrey before he even left the bed tomorrow.

Before Granger departed, she transfigured a stack of sheets into a cot for Draco to sleep on. Draco thanked her before settling in for the night. He would be right here if Harry needed him. Draco drifted off to sleep with thoughts of vengeance on his mind. The Dark Lord would pay for what he had just put Draco's mate through. He might even seek revenge on behalf of his misguided father. Call it penitence.

* * *

**Random notes**: I hadn't meant for Harry's dominance to be questioned so soon after Draco's, but it was a logical jump to assume that if Draco was dominant, Harry was submissive. And we couldn't let that rest. Also, I now realize that my descriptions of how their bond works might be confusing (It's because I don't remember old chapters so well to see how I started writing it and so make up crap as I go.). But sometimes it looks like they feel each other's emotions without trying, other times they have to search. We'll assume it's like Harry and Voldemort's connection- sometimes it's intentional, sometimes it happens when emotions run high or barriers aren't their strongest. So we'll say that they usually have to search for the emotions, but at other times, emotions are strong enough that they just leak through. (Besides, can you imagine always having someone else's emotions in your head along with your own? Sensory overload, much. X.x) Lastly, yay! I've been anxious to write that dream and wake up scene since last chapter. I almost wrote that scene first this chapter but waited. But I like how it turned out. =p

_**IMPORTANT NOTES**_: I borrowed from Chereche's "Being a Veela's Mate" when Draco created the mind barriers for Harry. (I actually didn't realize this until over half way through. Blah. That's the problem with reading so much. You get to wondering what ideas were yours and which ones came from something you read somewhere along the way.) But this is my proclaimer. No plagiarism intended. I give credit where due. But I'm keeping what I have because I like how it works out. Duly noted, I might have gotten other Veela ideas from her, too. I can't recall. I borrowed from several stories I've read and added my own touches along the way.


	13. Testing Limits

**A/N:** Vey. This took me almost 3 months. I hope it's cram-packed with enough goodness to make you all forgive me.

* * *

Of Dragons and Ravens

Chapter 12: Testing Limits

Harry awoke to a sore head, throat, and body. It took him a moment to remember the injuries weren't his fault this time. Voldemort had gotten through his mind shields again. But someone had saved him…_Draco._

Harry opened his eyes with his mate's name on his lips. He didn't know how he knew Draco would still be there, but he did.

"Draco," he croaked out around a raspy throat.

Yes, he remembered the screaming now. He tried to clear his throat before speaking again, louder this time.

"Draco."

He heard a rustling beside him and then his mate appeared before him.

"Harry. How are you feeling?" he asked, worry clear in his face and voice.

"Sore," was Harry's encompassing reply.

Harry tried to sit up, but Draco put a hand on his arm to stop him.

"You need to be seen by Madame Pomfrey," he said.

"I'm alright. I just need to get up," Harry told him.

Their talking had roused the other boys from their sleep and they all got up to check on Harry. He sat up to talk to them without Draco protesting this time.

"How you feeling, mate?" Ron asked.

"I'm sore, but alright," Harry said.

"Gave us quite a scare last night, Harry," Seamus put in.

"And we didn't know how to help," Neville added.

"Sorry," Harry apologized with a frown. This wasn't the first time they'd had to witness Voldemort attacking him. He never liked to get his friends involved.

"It's not your fault Harry. Just tell us what to do if it happens again," Dean said.

"It's not going to happen again," Draco interjected with steel in his voice.

Harry looked at him and saw an angry kind of determination written all over his face.

"The Dark Lord will never lay another finger on Harry, mental or otherwise," Draco finished.

Harry wasn't sure about that. The war had to be fought and won after all, and he and Voldemort were its key players, but there was no arguing with Draco in his current mood.

"How did you stop him last night, anyway?" Ron asked Draco.

A very good question. Harry looked to Draco to hear his answer.

"I built you new mind shields," he told Harry.

Harry looked at him in surprise.

"How did you do that? I didn't even know you knew Occlumency," Harry queried.

"Yes, well, you pick up things over the years," Draco answered.

Harry could tell he was evading giving a real answer, whether because of their current company or for more personal reasons, he wasn't sure. Still, it didn't matter at the moment. It had saved Harry so he was glad Draco had done it.

"We're just glad you're alright," Ron was saying.

"I'm fine. I just need to get up and move around," Harry told him before he attempted to swing his legs over the side of the bed.

"Not until Madame Pomfrey gives the okay," Draco said, stopping him again.

"I'm _fine_," Harry tried to argue, but Draco was immovable.

In the end, it was just easier to let Neville fetch Madame Pomfrey and have her check him over. She verified that there was nothing much wrong with him. The effects of the Cruciatus Curse, even administered in such a way, would not have any lasting effects. But she gave him potions for the soreness and advised that he should rest this morning anyway.

Draco solidly agreed and so Harry found himself bedridden. But at least he wasn't in the Hospital Wing this time.

Draco stayed with him and they had breakfast together via Dobby. When Draco left to attend Potions, Harry couldn't quite bring himself to regret being shut in.

* * *

Draco sat between Blaise and Pansy in Snape's classroom. Since it was the first class of the year, Draco was waiting for Snape to discuss the topics they would be learning this year.

Snape began by taking attendance. When he got down to Harry's name, he couldn't seem to keep himself from remarking on his absence.

"And look who's missing. Mr. Potter. Why am I not surprised that he thinks himself too good to attend my class?"

The Slytherins snickered and the Gryffindors grumbled, but Draco again got annoyed that Snape was debasing Harry's character, especially when the raven was not here to defend himself.

"Actually, professor, Harry is not feeling well this morning and Madame Pomfrey instructed him to stay abed," he said.

Snape looked at Draco, as though surprised he would challenge his insults to Harry. Snape had not yet learned that Draco would allow no such treatment to his mate, not even from his favorite professor. A swift education was in order.

"And how might you know this?" Snape asked.

"Because I sat with him in bed when she gave the instruction," Draco said.

Gossip-y twitters broke out at this announcement. Draco had no qualms about admitting he was in Harry's room this morning. He'd even gladly admit he had been with him last night. His mate had needed him and Draco had been there for him.

"That's enough," Snape snapped at his students. "We will discuss this more after class, Mr. Malfoy," he said before going back to his attendance and teaching his class.

When the students filed out after class, Snape bid Draco to approach his desk.

"What were you doing in Mr. Potter's dorm room this morning, Draco?" Snape asked when the room had cleared.

"Harry was being attacked by the Dark Lord last night in his sleep. I felt it and came to help. I built him new mind shields and stayed with him through the rest of the night," Draco told him.

"Felt it? Built new shields? But how did-? How did you even get into Gryffindor Tower? How did you find it?" Snape stumbled through his questions, allowing his confusion to show for the first time in Draco's company.

"There are many benefits to our bond, professor," Draco summed up.

"We will have to discuss these more in detail in the near future, then," Snape said with a narrowed gaze.

"Of course, professor, but for now I must go to my next class," Draco informed him.

"Of course," Snape said before dismissing him.

Draco did not bother looking back.

He sat through Arithmancy with the Ravenclaws thinking of Harry. When they were dismissed to lunch, he went to check on him. The portrait didn't even give him any problems this morning after his threats last night. Draco ignored the looks and the chatter from the students littering the Gryffindor common room. When he arrived at Harry's dorm room, it was to find it empty of all save Thomas, who informed him that Harry had already gone down to lunch.

Draco made his way down to the Great Hall wondering if Harry was even well enough to be out of bed. He had clearly taken Madame Pomfrey literally and had only stayed still for the morning. But then again, Draco knew that Harry hated being confined anywhere for too long. He'd had too much of that growing up, apparently.

Draco entered the Hall and noted Harry talking animatedly to his friends, all signs of any ill effects of last night's events wiped away by Madame Pomfrey's potions.

Draco moved to sit beside Harry. He didn't care if the Gryffindors didn't care for his presence. They'd have to grin and bear it for now. He noticed some of them gave him nasty or antagonistic looks and grumbled amongst themselves, but they didn't utter their displeasure where he could hear it. The majority of the House, however, looked at him with a mix of fear and awe. He supposed he could chalk that up to his open display of Veela power last night. Word travels quickly inside and among Houses.

This didn't bother him. Whatever worked. As long as no one stirred up trouble about his sitting there today. He was still unwilling to leave Harry's side if he didn't have to.

"Hey Draco," Harry smiled at him as he took his seat.

"How are you feeling?" he cut to the crux. If Harry still felt poorly, he'd make him return to bed.

"Better now that I'm up," Harry said, unconsciously (or maybe not) rejecting Draco's intentions.

"My dorm is incredibly boring when I'm the only one in it," he continued.

"You should have read for your classes, then," Draco said, giving Harry the same advice he often gave himself.

"Still boring," Harry said. "I played with my Snitch instead."

Draco chose to ignore the urge to lecture Harry here.

"How was Potions?" Harry asked.

"I would have assumed Granger would already have told you about that," Draco commented.

"She did," Harry assured him with a hint of a mischievous smile playing at his mouth now. "But apart from the lecture details, she says you started more gossip about us."

"Well I can't be held responsible for what our peers interpreted and surmised from my words. What I said was perfectly true and completely innocent," Draco told him.

"No one else seems to see it that way," Harry said, still smiling.

"And you didn't bother to correct them, I take it?"

"Of course not."

Of course not. Harry was clearly enjoying that everyone thought they had been up to less-than-innocent activities in Harry's bed this morning and probably last night as well, with Harry's dorm mates in residence no less.

"Since you are feeling so well now, I take it you will be attending your afternoon class," Draco said.

Harry just sighed his defeat and resumed talking to his friends across the table. Draco smiled his victory and ate his lunch.

At dinner, Draco sat at his own House table. He exchanged stifled conversation with Greg and Vincent and almost pleasant conversation with Pansy and Blaise. Millicent and Theodore again left their usual seats vacant in favor of joining the younger years.

Draco preferred that. Though his anger at them was at a much more subdued level, they were no longer welcome in his presence. Despite the fact that he hadn't yet avenged his Veela pride for their slights, he didn't fear he would lose control and lash out at them. Just the knowledge that he would be avenged, when he decided on an appropriate method of vengeance, assuaged his nature.

Draco glanced over at the Gryffindor table to find Harry immersed in happy conversation with the Weaslette. She smiled at him as if he hung the moon and the sun and all the stars in the universe. Harry was incredibly blind not to notice the girl's affections.

Draco didn't fear a loss of Harry's affections. They were mates after all. But Draco did worry about the Weaslette and her overt fondness for the raven. Draco would not take any challenge to his mating lightly and would recognize any strong opposition to the mating as such. He just hoped the girl wasn't mad enough to actually oppose him.

* * *

Harry enjoyed talking to Ginny, but it made him remember parts of the last few days that had slipped his mind. He had some things that needed settling.

After dinner, Harry grabbed Draco and headed for McGonagall's rooms. It was time to find out just what punishments the fourth years had been dealt and decide if it was punishment enough. Harry could have gone alone, but he decided Draco should know what his attackers had been sentenced to, as well. He probably had more a right to know than Harry, but Harry wasn't considering that at the moment.

When they arrived at McGonagall's quarters, Harry knocked on her outer door. He didn't pound, as part of him wanted to, but he knocked loudly enough that she probably wasn't the only one that heard it.

She seemed less than pleased when she answered the door.

"Mr. Potter, Mr. Malfoy, is there a reason you are trying to break my door down?" she asked as she leveled her stern gaze at them.

"Forgive me, professor. I wondered if we might ask you a few questions?" Harry asked.

"Well it can't be about homework. I haven't even assigned you any yet," she answered.

"No, ma'am. It's about the students that attacked Draco on the train," Harry told her.

"Oh well, yes. Come in," she said before stepping back to allow them entry.

"What did you want to know?" she asked once they'd all been seated.

"We hoped you might tell us what punishment you assigned." Draco said, speaking for the first time.

"Of course," she said. "They have been assigned a week's detention, which they have been serving with myself and Mr. Filch. And they had letters written home regarding their behavior."

"Well that seems fair," Draco was saying, but Harry frowned.

He was debating whether that really was an apt enough punishment. On one hand, McGonagall was almost always fair when dealing with troublesome students. He ought to know- he, Ron, and Hermione were her main three punished now that Fred and George had left. Further, any time spent with Filch was almost too much punishment for most crimes. And a letter home could be punishment enough, as well. Merlin knew that Harry had been severely punished whenever one of his teachers had written home to Uncle Vernon, whether the note had remarked on Harry's lack of friends or congratulated him on his grades. Whether good or bad, Harry had drawn attention to himself and Uncle Vernon had never liked that.

On the other hand, detention and a letter home did not guarantee that the fourth years had learned their lesson.

"Do you know if the students were given further punishments by their parents?" Harry asked McGonagall.

She sighed before saying, "I am not aware of any further punishments, but I doubt any were dealt."

When Harry looked at her uncomprehendingly and Draco merely lifted his eyebrows, she continued.

"I have received letters in return from a few of the parents thus far. Not only did they not apologize for their children's behavior, but they praised their children's actions and reprimanded me for punishing them to begin with."

For a second, Harry couldn't even gather enough correctly functioning brain cells to form a coherent thought. They were mostly all floating around in a collective stupor. But it didn't take long before the few working brain cells he had told him to get angry. He was both awestruck and furious and didn't know what to do with the combination.

It was in this mixed dulled and angry state that Harry felt a nudge along his bond to Draco, the sign that Draco wanted a mental conversation. Apparently the blond could feel Harry's, admittedly, less than stable emotions. And although part of Harry acknowledged the nudge, he couldn't spare any brain cells for opening the bond and conversing with Draco just at the moment.

When neither boy spoke after a minute, McGonagall continued in a quieter voice.

"It seems that they, too, do not agree that Mr. Malfoy is a suitable companion for you. And as none of them mentioned the term 'mate,' I can only assume they are either in denial or do not yet realize that you and Mr. Malfoy are bonded for life. In which case I expect this to get a lot worse."

* * *

It had that next day. That's when the owls started arriving. They came with Howlers and booby-trapped and strongly worded letters for Draco and Harry alike. There were more for Draco, of course, but Harry got his fair share.

Draco had not been in the mood for them. He was already sore from having woken up in a chilled hallway with Harry and their entwined wings again. He'd simply let the Howlers screech at him until they burned themselves out and left the mostly unopened letters where they lay once he'd finished his breakfast. Let the house elves deal with them.

On the second day the owls came, having woken in a hallway for the third time in less than a week, Draco was ready for it all to end. He took to blasting the letters in midair, between the unfortunate legs of some very pissed off owls, before they had the chance to spew their venom at him. He had seen Harry and his cohorts do this very thing sixth year when Harry had received hate mail for spreading "lies" about the Dark Lord's return. Or had it been fourth year when Granger had gotten hate mail for supposedly two timing on Harry with Krum? (As if there had ever been any comparison. Krum was a passing fad. Harry would die being the Savior of the Wizarding World. Even Granger wouldn't have been stupid enough to leave the latter for the former. But maybe that was Draco's current bias talking.)

But now Draco was taking control. Though he couldn't stop people from sending him the letters, he could stop them from reaching him. And he could bloody well put an end to waking up in cold corridors.

When breakfast was drawing to a close, Draco went over to the Gryffindor table and grabbed a tired-looking Harry (who had spent a long last night in the library with Granger and Weasley, apparently, before waking in a cold corridor) and pulled him over toward the Head Table where Dumbledore was preparing to leave.

When Dumbledore stepped to ground level, Draco spoke to him.

"Headmaster, may we speak with you?" he asked.

"Why certainly, dear boy. What can I do for you?" Dumbledore asked with his usual merriment.

"I would like to request a room change for Harry and myself," Draco continued.

Though he hadn't been speaking loudly, the immediate area quieted down, both at the Head Table and the surrounding House tables.

Dumbledore's eyebrows just furrowed in (what Draco considered mock) confusion.

"Is there something wrong with your living quarters?" Dumbledore asked.

"Not in general, no sir, but for us personally. Our wings are drawn to each other's in the night," Draco started to explain.

"We've woken up in the corridors the last two nights and once before then," Harry said around a yawn.

There was a pause as everyone let this sink in. Then-

"Only thrice? Not the other two nights you've been here?" McGonagall queried.

"We were already together then," Harry deadpanned.

Snickers and chatter exploded from the students privy to the current exchange. Draco repressed the urge to give Harry a reproving look. He had planned to avoid mentioning they'd already been spending the night together without prior permission. It wouldn't necessarily help their case. But nor would showing disapproval to him. Draco was all put out Veela mate right now.

"Situations called for our shared presence those nights. Such situations will not always arise, but for the foreseeable future, we will continue to be drawn from our beds without our being able to stop it," Draco informed both Dumbledore and McGonagall since she had joined the conversation.

Draco didn't begrudge her uninvited entry. She was Harry's Head of House. She'd have been told eventually and would have wanted a say in the matter. Draco half expected Snape to put in his two Knuts.

"Did you encounter this same issue before school began?" Dumbledore asked.

He didn't look curious so Draco assumed he already knew about the two nights they'd stayed together.

"We did, sir," Draco informed him.

"And how did you deal with it then?" Snape asked.

"We moved into the same room," Draco told him, to which Snape's mouth twisted and more excited chatter broke out from the students in close range. Draco ignored both.

"Are you proposing you do the same here, Mr. Malfoy?" Dumbledore asked.

"I am," Draco said.

"And you are okay with this, Harry?" McGonagall inquired. She didn't look against it, but nor did she appear happy at the announcement.

"When can I move?" Harry asked her back. Her lips twitched in an effort to fight a smile.

"And where are you planning to move to?" Snape asked.

"We can go to one of the married couples' rooms, or Harry can move into my Head Boy room," Draco suggested.

"Mr. Potter is not Head Boy," Snape countered.

"Nor are we technically married, but he can't move into the Slytherin dorms (a barely bitten back outburst from Snape) and I can't move into Gryffindor Tower," Draco countered back.

Classes started soon, but neither students nor teachers seemed overly keen to get to them in any hurry.

"I am not opposed to the move," Dumbledore said.

Snape rolled his eyes heavenward, as if he knew that Dumbledore would agree with few qualms and was sitting through yet another of the old man's indulgences.

"Professor McGonagall?" Dumbledore asked.

"It is fine by me," she said.

"Professor Snape?"

"Yes, yes, fine," Snape huffed his reluctant agreement, but it was still agreement.

"Which room would you prefer?" Dumbledore asked.

"I would like to stay in my current room," Draco told him.

"So would I," Harry piped up.

"Then it's settled," Dumbledore said.

"But may I also keep my current room?" Harry cut in.

Draco knew Harry was thinking about leaving his Gryffindor friends. He would still want to visit them often.

"As Head Boy and Girl still have the right to sleep in their respective House dorms when they prefer, I see no reason why that can't extend to you, as well," Dumbledore was saying.

Draco watched Harry bob his head in thanks.

Draco was in a much better mood for his classes that day.

* * *

The letters came on a bad day for Harry. Not only was he annoyed from having woken up cold and uncomfortable in the hallway with Draco, but he was still pissed about the fourth years after his talk with McGonagall.

Harry had only planned to set the fourth years straight and make them apologize on top of whatever just punishment McGonagall had issued, but he knew that wouldn't suffice anymore. Any apology given would have been insincere. They weren't just misguided, as he'd originally thought. They were as perverse as so many other people that surrounded Harry.

Why was it that everyone thought they had a say in how he ran his life?

The letters weren't all bad. Of course there were the Howlers and the few letters that were laced with some potion or spell and those that merely ranted at him about his choice of mate (like he'd had a choice). But there were also those that congratulated him on finding a partner and advised him in some way or another on relationships.

Still, these annoyed Harry the most. Despite their congratulatory message, who were these people that neither knew him nor what they were talking about? What right had they to advise him on the ways of Veela mating when they were clearly not Veela themselves? Veela matings were not like any other relationship.

The second day's owls were no better- still Howlers, still traps, still advice. Harry had let Hermione go through them. She read the ones she dared and _Incendio_-ed the rest. He was done with the lot of them.

When Draco came over and dragged Harry before Dumbledore, Harry hadn't been sure of the reason, but he'd heartily agreed with the move to Draco's room, so long as he could keep his current room, too. He wanted to be able to get into Gryffindor Tower to see Ron and Hermione and the rest. But he would definitely be moving in with Draco tonight.

In class, Hermione surprised Harry when she handed him a letter. It turned out to be the only one he cared about as it was from Remus. He waited until lunch to read it.

It was an inquisitive letter- asking Harry how his first week went in general, asking how his bond faired with him not being as close to Draco as they had been, asking how everyone was responding to his new circumstances, asking how Harry felt about it all. But most importantly, it asked if Harry wanted to meet Remus next weekend in Hogsmead. Apparently the werewolf had some Order business to attend to then and wanted to see Harry when he was so close.

This put Harry in a good mood for the rest of the day.

That night, he packed his clothes and most of his possessions to move to Draco's room. He was excited, but he didn't know why. They'd shared a room for nearly a month at home. But somehow this felt more…intimate, maybe? Perhaps it was the open admission of their relationship. Harry wasn't sure. Still, he was looking forward to it.

Draco was waiting in his room when Harry arrived. Harry had given the password to Nora, who already seemed to know that the room she guarded would have two occupants from then on. Draco smiled when Harry arrived. He'd already acquired a second closet for Harry and added another desk on the other side of the bed.

Harry went about putting his things away while chatting with Draco. He was happy they were together, but a bit disappointed at the same time. Maybe it was because the illicitness of their encounters was gone. Now they were allowed to spend the night together. Still, waking up to Draco was worth it.

They spent the night chatting until Harry went to take a bath. Draco was asleep by the time he got back. Harry smiled when he saw it- Draco snuggled up beneath the covers, his blond hair fanned out along his forehead, his face restful in slumber.

Harry ran his fingers through Draco's fringe. The wisps followed Harry's fingers until they fell lightly back in place. Even in sleep, Draco's mouth slightly curled into a smile. He loved when Harry played in his hair.

Harry joined Draco under the covers and molded their bodies together. It was a good way to find sleep.

The next morning, Harry wrote a response to Remus while Draco went to study in the library. Later they would test the limits of their telepathy, but for now, Draco had work to do and a meeting with Hermione for Head Boy and Girl duties.

Harry started the letter with an acceptance of Remus' offer for a visit. It would be good to see him again. Especially after all that they had been through already, and it was just the first week of term. Next he shortly chronicled his week to Remus, starting with the fourth years attacking Draco, moving through Bulstrode and Nott almost causing their own deaths, and ending with moving into Draco's room last night.

He'd had a full week and only expected things to get worse as people came to realize that his and Draco's relationship wasn't going to end just because they showed disapproval to it. But despite it all, he was happy. He finally had someone that could love him the way he'd always wanted. So it didn't happen quite like he'd expected it would. Harry was learning to accept that his life would never quite play out like he planned.

A short while later found Harry at the top of the astronomy tower, the highest point he could reach of the castle. Draco was walking down toward the Quidditch pitch. They could still hear each other clearly through their mental bond.

_I don't think it has a limit,_ Harry told Draco.

_It might not,_ Draco conceded, _but we'll keep testing it. We need to make sure it's limitless so we won't be surprised later if we get into trouble and need it._

_How far do you plan on going?_ Harry asked him while looking out over the castle grounds. It was a lovely day. A brilliant day to go flying or practice his Quidditch skills.

_Just to the edge of the Forbidden Forest,_ Draco answered him. _I have no intention on venturing in_ there _again_.

Harry cracked a smile remembering Draco in the Forest first year. Though he'd had a very good reason to run screaming at the time, Harry could laugh at it with the safe distance of time between them and the event. Not to mention Draco's encounter with Buckbeak third year. He'd been the cause of his own minor injury and then had grossly over-exaggerated that to gain sympathy.

Despite Harry having almost enjoyed Draco's plight back then, now the thought of Draco hurt caused an uncomfortable tightening of Harry's stomach and a twisting of something in his heart and along his bond.

_That should be far enough for today,_ Harry tried to say off handedly, rubbing at his tightened chest.

_Alright. I'm almost there. I'll head back once I finish getting to the far end of it_, Draco told him.

Harry nodded, despite the fact that Draco couldn't see it. He'd be able to see Draco soon and reassure whatever was wary in him that his mate was fine. He hadn't been in danger like that in years.

_What's going on down in the grounds?_ Harry asked to distract himself.

_Everyone is enjoying their weekend. A few snogging couples. A group or two by the lake. Everyone else either walking or lounging in the grass,_ Draco answered.

Harry _hmm_-ed as if interested in the answer. He hadn't been listening, really. He'd only cared about the sound of Draco's voice- calm, measured, obviously a bit bored by his topic. Most important, _not_ in pain or danger.

_Alright. I'm heading back now,_ Draco said.

Harry nodded to himself again. In the time waiting for Draco to return, Harry let his mind wander. He had an assignment to do for Snape and for Professor Higgins, the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. He also had some reading to do for Professor McGonagall.

Harry was only pulled from his musings when he felt a sudden spike of surprise from Draco, followed soon after by a hot flash of annoyance.

Harry scanned what he could see of the grounds but saw no trace of Draco.

_What is it?_ Harry asked him.

It took a few moments before Draco answered back, causing Harry to grow uneasy.

_It appears your Gryffindors did not take your warnings to heart. I seem to be in the middle of an attack._

* * *

Draco stood watching the Weaslette, who led the fourth years who had attacked him on the train among other lower year Gryffs. Clearly, Harry had gone unheeded by many.

Draco adopted a bored look. Despite the fact that he was annoyed that they had cornered him in a shadowed corner of the castle, he would not show them any real emotion. Besides, he was mostly annoyed with himself for not having seen this coming. He knew the Weaslette couldn't hold her peace for long and the fourth years had already shown their hand. McGonagall's punishment obviously hadn't taught the children anything.

Weasley just glared at him a moment before speaking.

"I know that you're supposedly Harry's mate. But I won't accept that. I think Harry needs protecting from you. I won't let you hurt him."

Harry's worried voice sounded in Draco's head. With their bond completely open as it was, Draco knew Harry could feel every infinitesimal flicker of emotion that crossed him.

_It appears your Gryffindors did not take your warnings to heart. I seem to be in the middle of an attack, _Draco told him.

_What? By who?_ Harry asked, anger replacing the worry in his mental voice.

Draco noticed the words decidedly lacked fear. He wondered if Harry was responding to his own fearless tone or if the anger just overpowered everything else for the raven.

_No one important. There's no need to worry._

_Do you need help?_

_To handle a couple of underage Gryffindors? Hardly._

"It's time we show you how we protect our own," Weasley was saying.

She raised her wand and Draco's wings were out and hardened between one breath and another. Draco didn't consider anyone else here a threat, but Weasley had learned advanced spells at the hand of Harry two years ago. She now had more formidable jinxes in her repertoire than her famed Bat Bogey Hex. He would do well not to underestimate her.

"Weasley, I advise you to take your friends and abandon your plans of attack. I cannot guarantee you will walk away unscathed, otherwise. And might I further remind you that you are threatening the Head Boy? That is a highly punishable offense. And while I understand and even appreciate your attempts at protecting Harry from harm, I am not a danger to my mate. But while you labor under your misguided delusions of protecting him, you well may be. I cannot allow that to go on. You either cease your endeavors, or I will be forced to make you," Draco said.

A look of almost uncertainty crossed Weasley's face and Draco noticed that her wand lowered a fraction of an inch. Her companions, however, were not as easily persuaded and Draco watched as what he thought were a pair of fifth years stepped from behind Weasley and shot dual spells his way.

Draco did not react at all, though his wings had gone around him, absorbing and rebounding the spells at the unsuspecting fifth years.

One yelped when the spell hit him and fell to the ground, his body bound together with an _Immobulus_. The other had his legs collapse from under him and they jerked about under the influence of the Jelly Legs curse.

Draco flicked his eyes to the fifth years, then quirked his eyebrow at Weasley, who had just watched what would likely be the result of any spell fired at Draco with a look of a little less than shock on her face. Perhaps she'd been informed by her family that their spells had likewise backfired when they'd tried to stop him from getting to his mate, but hadn't quite believed them.

This was certainly a punctuation to his words. Hopefully it showed everyone present that he meant what he said. If they attacked him, they would not leave unharmed.

"I will warn you once more, leave and no more harm shall come to you," Draco said.

Weasley flicked another glance down at the fifth years and then started backing away, her look defiant and almost mutinous; and the others, all save the debilitated fifth years, followed her lead.

_Are you still okay?_ Harry asked.

_I'm fine. Better than some of your friends, anyway._

_What'd you do to them?_

_Nothing. Two of them incapacitated themselves, however._

_Themselves?_

_Well, they tried to hex me, but I'm afraid they failed._

_I see. _

_I did warn them._

_And they didn't listen._

_When do they ever?_

_Are you going to help them?_

_I haven't decided yet. _

Draco heard Harry bark a laugh at this.

He looked down at the two fifth years trying to determine what to do with them.

All of a sudden he heard the beginnings of a shouted curse coming from the direction of where Weasley and her cohorts retreated. He was about to duck and turn when he heard a counter curse coming from another direction that silenced the first.

He turned to find Pansy with her eyes flashing and her wand raised at the younger year that had cursed Draco behind his back. Blaise stood beside her, his wand raised toward the group of younger years in general.

Draco blinked at them, more surprised by their assistance than the fact that a "Noble Lion" had attacked him from behind.

Draco watched his friends who kept their wands aimed at the Gryffindors until they'd fully retreated back within the castle walls. He retracted his wings.

"Thank you," Draco said uncertainly. He wasn't altogether used to receiving help, let alone thanking people for it.

"Well we couldn't let those bloody Gryffindorks curse you from behind, now could we?" Blaise asked.

Draco considered telling him the spells would likely have bounced right off of him without damage, but he didn't want to undermine their unexpectedly heroic efforts.

"And they call us spineless," Pansy sneered in the direction they Gryffindors had left.

"You didn't have to do that," Draco told them.

"We know, but we've been thinking," Pansy started.

They moved off to a corner to speak more privately. They'd drawn the attention of those closest to them.

"You know we've never wanted any part of this war. It's always been our parents' fight, not ours," Blaise added quietly.

"And we think siding with you, siding with Dumbledore, might give us a better chance at surviving it," Pansy added just as quietly.

"I'm not so much siding with Dumbledore as siding with Harry, but I guess they equate at this point. But I welcome you," Draco said.

"Besides, I've missed my best mate," Blaise added with a slight smile.

"And my favorite tease," Pansy said with a brighter smile.

Draco didn't know what to say. He'd kept his friends. Two of them, at least. He hadn't really expected any of them to stick beside him. Tomorrow would show where Vince and Greg stood.

Draco could tell he'd surprised them when he pulled them into a hug. He wasn't the sentimental sort. But the knowledge that he wasn't as alone as he thought he'd be, even given Harry, who wouldn't be there every second or when they had separate classes, was cause enough to overwhelm him for a moment.

"Thank you," he said again. A lot more confident this time.

"Er, you're welcome, mate," Blaise said as he patted Draco's back. He was clearly at a loss with this new side of Draco.

But that was alright. Draco couldn't quite make himself explain it to them. But it was good.

* * *

Harry stood in a window overlooking the grounds. Even though Draco had said he didn't need Harry's help to deal with his would-be attackers, Harry had to come. He'd flown there because there was no way he'd have been in time to help had he only run through the castle.

And he'd seen the students confront Draco and run back into the castle after being thoroughly handled. And he had noted just who dared to attack Draco. He hadn't been surprised to see the group of fourth years again. He had been shocked to see that Ginny had been leading them, though, even if she hadn't actually attacked Draco. All of them would be dealt with eventually.

Harry retracted his wings. They'd come out again when Draco's had at Ginny's perceived threat. Harry hadn't intervened, as a very large part of him said he should, but he stood by in case Draco was attacked all at once or was presented with more than he could handle. He needn't have worried. Draco had dealt with everything without even using his wand (not that they needed them to manage such situations. Their Veela powers were more than enough for the average wizard.).

But now Harry watched as Draco embraced his friends. Harry smiled. He knew Draco had been feeling a bit lonely lately, even if the blond would never admit to such. Harry still had Ron and Hermione and his dorm mates, even now that he was mated to Draco. But Draco seemed to have lost all of his friends as soon as his attachment to Harry was known. He could play the strong loner all he liked, but Harry had a direct link into his feelings. He couldn't be fooled.

So if Parkinson and Zabini would be brave enough to befriend Draco now (and Harry could not deny that such a move was indeed brave), then Harry would make an effort to get along with them. He would make his transition into their lives (because if they were a part of Draco's life, they would inseparably be a part of his, as well) as smooth as he could. He hoped they would do the same.

And maybe with them all, Draco could be happy.

* * *

**A/N**: So, blame the fandoms for my late update. Doctor Who. Sherlock. Merlin. Supernatural. And now Torchwood. I've been writing this chapter over the last month. I tried not to hit the 2 month mark and now I've almost hit the three. X.x But, I finished this last night (before I started editing again and added all kinds of crap) and hopefully you all approve. [: Thanks to everyone who has stuck with me, despite my absence. Also, I got into a grad school in California. Yay me. ^^

Thank you for reading/reviewing/following/favoriting, for the first or frequent time, even during the wait.

Unregistered Reviews:

DarkHorseLover- Thank you. I'm so glad you're enjoying this story. Thank you for reading and reviewing. [: And honestly, I hadn't even thought of Remus again until you asked. So you are the reason Harry will be seeing Remus again next weekend.

Carling- Your comment deserves more of a reply than I can fairly give it here, but thank you for that. Several millions of times over. It almost made me cry. Thank you making me feel like a real writer. But necessary remarks: 1. Don't fear. I've found several good writers just by liking their reviews. 8) 2. I hate fem Harry or Draco. If my characters ever slip into that, shoot me. 3. I adore long reviews. It makes me think people are taking time to not only read, but analyze and deeply immerse themselves in my work. (And being compared to Lomonaaeren...I can't even. I don't even know how to respond to such a compliment.) 4. I hadn't given much thought to the fact that they'd only kissed thus far, but you're right. They weren't gay and so are still adjusting. Though I do intend to make them go further eventually (especially since a reviewer reminded me me that I made Harry say he was interested in going further a few chapters back.)


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